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I talked to Chaya Esther Nee Gurevitch/
Horwitz-Raich in New Haven, Connecticut. She was known in Kurenets as Chaya
Gurevitch, the daughter of Chayim Israel Gurevitch. Chaya Esther (first cousin
of my grandfather; Meir son of Mordechai gurevitz) had five much older brothers
and two older sisters who were related to her only from her fathers side.
Chayim Israel was married to the daughter of Shmuel Malach Alperovitz. She died
in 1917. From her mothers side she had a sister and a brother from her
mothers marriage to a Pilskin. Her mother was originally from Miadel and
she would visit the cemetery there where her parents were buried. Her paternal
sister Leah Nee Gurevitch-Benes lived in Kurenets. Her husband was Zusia. They
didnt have any children. They perished on 10-9-1942. Her other paternal
sister, Rachel nee Gurevitch-Mula lived in Svir. She had a son Volvel, and two
daughters. Her maternal sister Sonya lived in Dolhinov. She was married to Kaminkovitz.
They had four or five sons. They all perished in Dolhinov. Her maternal brother
was Rabbi Pilskin, who lived in Baltimore. He had a son who was a rabbi in Israel.
From her five paternal brothers, one lived in Minsk  Yehoshua. He survived
the war and returned to Minsk. One of his sons perished and the others
whereabouts is unknown to Esther. Her other four brothers moved to New Haven,
Connecticut many years before the war. Chaya Esther was hiding with her neighbors
in Kurenets. Leibe and Freida-Bilka Ziskind and their three daughters, Dvora,
Rivka, and (?). On that day, the Germans came to kill the residents of Kurenets.
They hid underneath hay piles for a few days and then they were able to escape
to a nearby village, where a Christian farmer who knew the Ziskind family told
them how to reach the Narutz forest, where other people from Kurenetz were hiding.
They were able to reach the forest and they spent two years hiding there with
many others from Kurenets. Today Chaya Esther is responsible for the meetings
of the Holocaust survivors in the New Haven area. She told me about other survivors,
such as Sonya from Dolhinov and her husband Baruch Markman from Kurenets, and
Charles Gelman (who was known as "Chetzkel Tzimerman) and his sister Dishka
(who lived in New York).

I would like to thank Roger Rice
for the beautiful pictures of the KRIVITSKY
Family and for the two books that his great uncle David Krivitsky wrote c 1948.
David dedicated the one of the books to his sisters Liba (Rice) and Chana and
I think to the memory of his brother Harry (It is written in Yiddish)
One of the poems is dedicated to his sister Liba Rice another to his brother;
Harry Kamin. Many poems are dedicated to friends. Amongst them childhood friends
from Kurenitz; To Moris Cohen who also wrote in the kurenitz Yizkor book;
http://eilatgordinlevitan.com/kurenets/k_pages/stories_matia.html.

Another was dedicated to His childhood friend; Chaim Zalman Shulman.
Aharon Meirovitz was very kind and translated it to Hebrew and asked me to post
it here. You could find it in two parts;
http://eilatgordinlevitan.com/kurenets/k_pix/israel/61101_23b_heb_b.gif

http://eilatgordinlevitan.com/kurenets/k_pix/israel/61101_23c_heb_b.gif
Aharon chose the poem for the love that David had for his hometown Kurenitz
that he left so many years before. Most of the krivitsky family lived in New
Haven. Some (Like Alexander) changed their last name to Winik.
http://eilatgordinlevitan.com/kurenets/k_pages/krivitsky.htmlclick
for pictures of the Krivitsky family
USA -

Dear Eilat:

Shalom, while doing a search for
EINBINDER I found (see below) a message that you left in a guestbook........

I just had a new discovery. I had
been reaching a branch of my

Mothers family with the surname,
Skolnik or Shkolnik, all this time.

I have now learned that the family
name in the beginning to mid 1800's

Was changed from EINBINDER.

<blockquote type=cite cite>Vetter
Mendel Einbinder was Dovid's brother. Another brother was Chatzkle Alperowitz.
The original family name was Einbinder. In order to avoid conscription into
the Russian army, Chatzkle and Dovid took different surnames. Chatzkle changed
surname to Alperowitz and Dovid changed surname to Skolnik

Dovid Skolnik was my great great
grandfather. He was from a place not far from Vilna called Vileika / Wileika.
His brother Chatzkle Alperowitz lived in a small town called Dunilowitz.

The many of my Skolnik and Alpert(owitz)
family are located in New Haven CT.

This is all I know at the present.
I've just started looking into my

Einbinder family.

Does any of this information sound
familiar???

All the best,

Jay Lenefsky -Israel

hotdog@netvision.net.il

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

EilatGordn@aol.com wrote:

Shalom,

I am starting a shtetl page for Krasne,
Belarus.

in the eidb I found; ;Anbinder,Chaje
Krasne, Russia 1913 63y

54 Anbinder,Schame Krasna 1906 35y

55 Anbinder,Zyzic Krasne, Russia
1913 18y

Also my relatives are the Einbinder
family of New Haven who came from Kurenets in the 1920s' (next to Krasne, in
the area of Vileyka). Is ;Krasne; in today Belarus? . Thank you. Eilat

Thank you very much it is most interesting,

Welcome to the Kurenets Site http://eilatgordinlevitan.com/kurenets/kurenets.html

Welcome to the Vileyka Site

http://eilatgordinlevitan.com/vileyka/vileyka.html

I created pages for Vileyka and next-door
Kurenitz; some notes that I have;

Jenny nee Zavodnick Koslow Daughter
and son-in-law; Stanley and Sylvia Katz wrote me that their Zavodnick family
was from Kurenets and about Jenny's father; Skolnik from Vileyka. They live
in New Haven

Ashka nee Kremer from Kurenitz married
Meir Skolnik who perished in 1942. Picture of the children of his sister who
were killed as partisans; http://eilatgordinlevitan.com/kurenets/k_pix/scenes_old/112901_kos_b.gif

Another note I received; "Amazing
and wonderful website. My maternal grandmother Scolnik was from Kurenetz and
she said half the town was named "Alperovich". . . As I look at your webiste,
this seems very true. I hope to post some of her stories about Kurenetz c. 1900
when I get a chance. "

In Kurenitz lived; Zalman, Mendel,
and Moshe Alperovitz. they were the sons of Chatzkle the son of Binyamin

Zalman, Mendel, and Moshe were born
c 1870. could their father Chazkle born before 1850 be your great great grandfathers'
brother? you could find some of that family pictures in; Alperovitz http://eilatgordinlevitan.com/kurenets/k_pages/alperovitz.html

<< Stu Einbinder's family is
from a place in Poland called , Mlawa. (as persome web page

I found). It is a great distance
from the Vileka district so I am notsure right now that there is a connection.
>>

Stu is related to me, and my family
is from kurenitz his grandmother Perl (the sister of my great grandfather Mordechai
Gurevitz and his grandfather, Nathan Einbinder, lived in Kurenits. his grandmother
came from Kurenitz

so there must be a connection to
the vileyka area if they found each other and lived and had children in Kurenitz!!!
There were a few other Einbinder families in Kurenits as in Dolhinmov- Yitzhak
Einbinder was a well known partisan from Kurenitz - read the story of Zalman
Uri Gurevitz (my mothers first cousin); http://eilatgordinlevitan.com/kurenets/k_pages/stories_gurevitz.html

"Amongst us were Benjamin (Nyomka)
Shulman, Shimon Zirolnik, Yitzhak Einbender, Mordechai (Motik) Alperovitz, Nachoom
Alperovitz, and I. Our original troop leader was Kopel Spektor, a man of all
seasons- an athlete, a bookworm, a mathematician, and a generous and dedicated
person. He was like a father to us. During the days of the Soviets, he was a
technician and a cartographer in the central train station in Molodechno, 30
kilometers from Kurenets. He was graduate of a technical institution in Vilna
and an extremely capable man......One of Vlodia's men dressed as a policeman
and took Noach Dinnerstien, Eliyahu Alperovich, Yitzhak Einbender, Nyomka Shulman,
Yankale Alporevitch and I . We pretended we were prisoners going to work in
the Vileyka camp, the partisan was very convincing in his roll as a cop. When
we arrived we had to hide for many hours till nighttime came. All together there
were about 40 people at the meeting. They pretended that it was a dance party.
Inside everyone was armed. Berta introduced Vlodia as the commissar of the partisan
Otriad. Vlodka said we must forget each others names; each one will get
a nickname. We would work secretly, and most importantly make sure that no traitors
infiltrated our group"

michaelp55@hotmail.com writes:

<< Shalom!

My mother's maiden name is Kurinets,
and we come from Bobruisk, Belarus, but my mother always said that family came
from the town of Kurinets. Do you have any idea how to search for relatives?

Below you'll find the answers for the questions you ask my grandfather,Yitzhak
Alperowitch (son of Israel Hakatzav);
His Mother's maiden name is Chaya Swirski.
His grandfather, father of his mother, David Swirski,
and father of his father, Abrão David Alperowitch,
both died of old age.

He knows some living relatives:

S.Paulo:
Emilio Levinson, was born in Brazil, son of Shmerl
Swirski (brother of my granpa`s mother) with his
second wife. Changed the last name.
Chana Himelfarb, Emilio`s sister.

This is a list of donors who participated financially so far in the restoration
of
the Jewish Cemetery in Dolhinov.
The project is estimated to cost 30000 US dollars . 23000 of the sum has been
already collected.
For address of people on the list - email:
rubinlj@netvision.net.il (RUBIN LEON)
For letters:
Leon Rubin, 2 Hartsit str.,Ramat Efal, 52960, Israel
Tel. 03-6356469
.
-

Today I talked with Sara (From the
Norman, Kooperstooch/ Baskin family of Vileyka) and Boris Klor (from Michalishek
near Vilna.) The Klors have homes in Hamden, CT and in Delray Beach; FL.
Boris was born in Michalishek in 1921. Sara was born in Vileyka. her mother
was from the Norman family (a relative of Shalom and Moshe Norman) Her father
was from the Baskin/ kooperstooch family of Ilja. The original last name was
Baskin but some of the family changed their last name to Kooperstooch to avoid
serving in the Russian army prior to the First World War. I found some Information
on the Baskin family by using a search engine. I will post it in the next note.
Saras' family moved from Vileyka to Michalishek when she was still a young child.
She practically grew up with Boris Klor. As they grew they fell in love. Sara
moved to Vileyka during the rule of the Soviets (1939-1941) It was easier the
get a job in Vileyka that had many official Soviet offices.
In the summer of 1941, the day before the German invaded the Soviet Union, one
of Saras' sister came for a visit in Vileyka as summer vacation started. Both
sisters were able to get on a train to Russia during the first days of the German
invasion. They survived the war somewhere in the eastern regions of Russia.
Unknown to them a brother was also able to arrive in Russia. Two sisters were
in German camps. One Perished and the other survived.
Boris klor is the only person who survived the war from his entire family. He
was taken to ghetto Vilna with most of the Jews of his shtetl. He was able to
escape in 1943with a group of 27 young people mostly from Grodno, who were helped
by some Jewish partisans from the Narootz forest. It took them five days to
reach the forest. they were able to bring nine pistols. He later joined Warshilov
Brigade under markov. he served there with many from Kurenets, Svir, Myadel,
Postov, Krivichi and more. he knew many families from Kurenets who hid in the
area. For a short time he also served in the jewish unit under Yosef Glazman.
He told me about rivka Gvint, Rivka Alperovitz, shimon Zimerman, Sara and Moshe
Alperovitz (Rashkas'- my great grandmothers' sister) Ester Reich (Chaya Gurevitz
the daughter of Israel- my great grandfathers' brother) and Zalman, Gershon,
Lea and their father- Natan Gurevitz, the brother of my grandfather)
After the war Sara and Boris found each other. They came to Germany via Poland
and tried to get papers to settle in Israel. Saras' grandmother from the Baskin
family- was in the U. S for many years. she looked for survivors and when she
found them she was able to get papers for them and they all came to America.
.
I found a site with relatives of Sara; BASKIND FAMILY HISTORY
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~jlevinson/moearticle.html
By Moe Baskind
As I at last begin writing a history of our family, my greatest regret is that
my sister Rose is not alive. She would have given me much information of an
interesting nature that I only possess slightly.

Our family came from what is now either Poland or Lithuania.(now Belarus) We
are classed however as Litvoks. My fathers family lived in a village called
Ilya. If you can find a large map of Russia or Poland you might spot it. I once
saw it on a map, but I don't recall what book. It is somewhat south of the larger
city of Vilna.

My father, born about 1861 was the second oldest of a family of six boys and
one girl. The oldest although in my cousin Joseph Baskind's book he calls him
Menachim Mendel. Next was my father, Avrum Pesach, then David "Cooperstock,"
followed by Hirschl, Itche, Rivka (who became an Arian) and Shmeul. In Russia
the eldest son was exempt from army duty so somehow David was made the eldest
son of a Cooperstock family. They were the only family that never came over,
although some of the children came here, and some landed in Israel.

How they all made a living before coming to America, I can't tell you. Their
parents names were Berel and Rashi. Their father died rather young, and they
were all out on their own when youngsters. Their mother died about 1904 or 1905,
and I believe at the time, only my Aunt Rivka was living in Europe.

How well I remember the peculiar custom prevailing then that when a letter came
from Europe announcing the death of a parent or close relative, the news was
kept from the immediate family member. Sometimes, for a year. It would seem
that this would have an effect on saying kaddish, and why a death was kept secret,
I don't know.

Chai Mendel who landed and stayed in New York was a shammes and part reverend.
He was the father of Joseph, a prominent member and General Secretary of the
ARBEITER RING, the national Jewish Labor organization. His other children were
Louie, who has some children living in Miami Beach. Tillie Broida, who lived
in Pittsburgh for a while, and then moved to New York, and Fannie, who also
lived in New York. The other son who stayed in New York was Uncle Schmuel. The
was the father of Rose Somberg, now living in Cleveland.

I believe Uncle Hirshel, the father of Dinah Slavin, Minnie Baskind, Beckie
Minister, Rose Kohl, and Manny was the first to arrive in the United States.
His wife, Tante Sarita, was distantly related to the Brudno family of Cleveland
and perhaps that is why they came to Cleveland. The Brudno's already had a large
stogie factory in Cleveland. I remember it on lower Broadway. It must have been
five or six stories high. When Uncle Hirschel came to Cleveland, he immediately
went to work for the Brudno's. My Aunt Sarita was very proud of her ancestor,
Menasseh of Ilya, who is mentioned in the Encyclopedia Britanica as one of the
five famous pupils of the Vilna Gaon. That is why there are so many Emanuel's
in their family.

Tante Rivka married an Arian who was either a first or second cousin to the
Baskind's. They were the last of my fathers family to come over and consisted
of Ida Newmeyer, George who lived in California, Rose, now with the Blonder
company and retired. Harry a druggist who passed away early in life, and Ben,
the only one born in this country Ben passed away in 1973. The reason they came
later was due to the inability of my Uncle Isaac Arion to enter this country
on his first attempt. How well I remember his efforts, only to be turned away
at Ellis Island in New York because of weak eyes. I don't remember how many
times he tried but finally made it.

My Uncle Itche came over as a single man, and then brought over his future wife
Sarah. I vaguely remember their wedding, although Minnie Baskind says she remembers
it well. I think it about 1901 or 1902. They had four sons and one daughter.
All the sons became the famous druggists of Cleveland. Harry, the oldest became
the first Jewish Chairman of the State Pharmacy Board in Ohio. Perhaps the first
Jew in that capacity of any state. Harry died in 1975. Next was Jack, now retired,
who recently celebrated his 75th birthday. Then came Al and David, who passed
away early in life, and last, the only girl Florence. Of course all of these
cousins of mine have numerous children. There were many other cousins from Uncle
Schmuel's family as well.

Now some information of my mother's family. She was born about 1863. They were
not poor as my fathers. Her father and mother, Beritche and Pia, lived in Kablonka,
a small village not too far from Ilya. My grandfather inherited the rights to
the lease of a grain mill plus some small acreage of land. I call it rights
because they were not allowed to own any land. However their ancestors received
that right from the Poretz or Count who owned the land for many miles around.

My mother had an older sister Shana who married a specter and had one son, Abe.
None of Abe's children survive today. Other children of Shana are Dinah Kline,
who had several children. Gute Friedland, who had Dorothy and other daughters
and sons whom I don't remember.

A younger brother of my mother Moshe Hirschel Alpert had to leave a daughter
in Europe because of illness. Another daughter was Freda Rubenstein who lived
in Denver and passed away in 1976. Freda had a son and a daughter. Her daughter
lives in Denver and is called Mrs. Mosco. Abe, a son of Moshe Hirschel was a
druggist, now passed away. How many children, I don't know....

http://www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/collections/exhibits/tam/JLC/2origins.html
The Jewish Labor Committee (JLC) was founded to provide a presence for Jewish
labor in the councils of the American trade-union movement and in the Jewish
"establishment," and to mobilize labor in the struggle against fascism.

Its founding meeting, at Central Plaza on New York's Lower East Side, on February
25th 1934, brought together more than a thousand delegates representing the
International Ladies' Garment Workers Union (ILGWU), Amalgamated Clothing Workers,
United Hebrew Trades, Workmen's Circle, Jewish Daily Forward Association, and
a number of smaller groups. Baruch Charney Vladeck, general manager of the Forward,
was chosen president; David Dubinsky of the ILGWU, treasurer; Joseph Baskin
of the Workmen's Circle, secretary; and Benjamin Gebiner, also of the Workmen's
Circle, executive secretary. Holding that only a broad-based workers' movement
could overthrow Hitlerism, the JLC emphasized its labor orientation and nonsectarian
philosophy. Its aims were to support Jewish rights everywhere, support all progressive
and democratic anti-fascist groups, aid refugees, and educate the American labor
movement (and the general public) about the Nazi threat.

The JLC was the brainchild of B.C. Vladeck, a brilliant writer and organizer
who was known for the elegance of his Yiddish oratory and who was adept at navigating
the perilous waters of New York immigrant politics. Vladeck, like most of the
early generation of Jewish American labor and socialist leaders, had served
his political apprenticeship in the famous "Bund" or General Jewish Workers'
Union of Lithuania, Poland, and Russia.

The Bund was a Jewish social-democratic party (legal in Poland, illegal in Russia),
which sustained its own network of schools and cultural/fraternal institutions
devoted to the strengthening of Yiddish culture and socialist values. Generally
hostile to both Zionism and Communism, it was associated with the social-democratic
Second International. In many areas, the founders of the JLC were translating
and adapting lessons learned in the ranks of the Bund for use in the very different
social milieu of America.
Workmen's Circle

From;
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~jlevinson/interview.html
FREEDA HURWITZ:
Shevanovik was a farm. We lived on a farm.
SYLVIA LEVINSON: We are recording some
reminiscences on Sunday, March the 10th, 1980,
some of Mom's and Aunt Bea's reminiscences of
what life was like when they lived in Europe.
BEA WEINBERG: Seventy-six years ago.
BEA WEINBERG: Well, I lived all my childhood on an estate which belonged to
a Polish count. His name was Shizdevski (phonetic spelling). It was a beautiful
surroundings; hills, wood-covered, nuts that we used to go in the summer and
gather them, dry them and have them for the winter.
There were lakes where my brothers used to get up at four o'clock in the morning
and go fishing and were always successful. There was a beautiful stream that
ran right through the estate; clear water, not like what you see here. Wildflowers
on the hills and meadows, an orchard full of pears and plums and apples within
a few steps of our kitchen door.

SYLVIA LEVINSON: Well, now, you rented this land; why did you have to rent it?

BEA WEINBERG: Jews in Russia were not permitted to hold any kind of land.

SYLVIA LEVINSON: Did you pay the count money, or did you give them part of the
--

EEDA HURWITZ: No. We paid him. on the farm, we raised cows.

BEA WEINBERG: We had a dairy.

REEDA HURWITZ: We had a dairy. And we had chickens. We had geese. And we had
ducks and our own --- the chickens laid, we had our own eggs and our own vegetables.
We had a garden. We had all kinds of vegetables for making pickles and sauerkraut
and all the edible vegetables; potatoes, carrots.

SYLVIA LEVINSON: Who worked the farm and

raised the vegetables and took care of the cows

and chickens and everything?

BEA WEINBERG: We had the mujiks, what were known as the mujiks, the Russian
peasants who lived right in little houses on the farmland.

BEA WEINBERG: They were paid and they were given enough of the vegetables, the
fruits and all.... SYLVIA LEVINSON: What would they be

equivalent to what we know? Is there anything equivalent to that in this country?

BEA WEINBERG: I don't think so.

BURTON LEVINSON: We have tenant farmers.

SYLVIA LEVINSON: Would that be like that?

FREEDA HURWITZ: No. We used to give them

shares of the --
Now, we had a dairy, as was mentioned before. And the milk would be sent over.
There was a boy that was also, probably, a Jewish boy that would get fifty or
sixty dollars a year.

And the milk would be loaded in tremendous vats, like, see, and he would take
it to the market. There was a market on certain days in the little town; what
was it?

FREEDA HURWITZ: Danilovich.

BEA WEINBERG: Danilovich it was called.

SYLVIA LEVINSON: And that was the closest

little town to you?

BEA WEINBERG: Yes. Yes.

9 FREEDA HURWITZ: Yes.

10 SYLVIA LEVINSON: So when you are talking

11 about little, how many people lived there? Was

12 it like a --

13 FREEDA HURWITZ: Like a village.

14 BEA WEINBERG: I wouldn't say, because I

15 don't know, and I wouldn't want to speak as to

16 how many.

17 FREEDA HURWITZ: It wasn't as big as

18 maybe, maybe as big as Lebanon or those little

19 places around.

BEA WEINBERG: Well, we don't know how big Lebanon is.

22 SYLVIA LEVINSON: But it was where the farmers would bring their --

BEA WEINBERG: It was small. It is what you call, what is known in Yiddish literature
as a shtetl.

FREEDA HURWITZ: Yes, a shtetl. There were a lot of Jewish people there, a lot
of Jewish people.

SYLVIA LEVINSON: About how far would you

imagine your --

BEA WEINBERG: I would say twenty miles.

SYLVIA LEVINSON: About twenty miles from

there?

BEA WEINBERG: Yes.

SYLVIA LEVINSON: And then he would sell

the milk?

BEA WEINBERG: He would sell the milk and bring the money. And we had I don't
know how many cows, a lot of cows and sheep and geese; not ducks much because
we didn't have any water ....
SYLVIA LEVINSON: And those were the

Through great research by M.L. Anderson
and her friend Charlotte, I believe my grandfather came from your town. His
name was Samuel Sassinsky/Sossinsky/Sosinsky (one of those last names. He had
a brother Julius and sister Dina. He was born October 7, 1883. I understand
that he had relatives murdered in the holocaust, Sossensky(i). What I need to
know if there are any documentations or by knowledge when he came to America.
It had to be before 1910 when my aunt was born. He was married to Rose. I don't
know if it occurred there or here.

I would like to thank Carlos Glikson for the note I found;
Date: Sat, 15 Dec 2001 13:36:13 -0300
from: "Carlos Glikson"
Subject: Re: Family roots in Kurenets
Haim Bar Levav is tracing his Swirsky family roots possibly to "the town of
Korenitz". May I suggest a link for (probably) Haim's Korenitz?

Eilat Gordin Levitan has worked very hard to offer the results of her
research on-line. A very interesting web page for Kurenets/ Kurenitz/
Kureniec - Latitude: 54 deg 33' Longitudes: 26 deg 27' - may be found at

http://www.eilatgordinlevitan.com/kurenets/kurenets.html

Eilat has been equally generous with other places of interest for her.
Links to Dolhinov, Krasne, Krivichi, Kurenets, Radoshkovichi, Vashki,
Vileyka, Vishnevo, and Volozhin may be found at the home page

http://www.eilatgordinlevitan.com/

Haim may find mentions in the Kurenets guestbook of a David Swirsky's
family (from nearby Dolhinov) arriving to the US in 1912

I am looking into my grandfather's
heritage. He came from Wisoki (not sure of the spelling) Russia/Poland in 1909.
His name was Hersh Len. Would like to know the area and any family.
roberta zimmerman robertazim@yahoo.com
Colonia, NJ USA -

I had scheduled to meet my grandfather (Yitzhak Alperovitz the son of Israel
hakatzav- Yitzhak was born in Kurenets c1910) on Wednesday, to talk about our
conversation and get all the answers you had asked me. If you need more
information, please let me know. He lives in another city (Santos) and I
will meet him here, since Mauro, my cousin who lives now in Israel is visiting
us.

I had asked a professional to translate and print out your web site
content, and I will give him to read. I believe after that I can record
some testimonies and even make a conference call with you, as me the
mediator. I just ask a couple of weeks to have this print out ready.

I called Michael Gibelman (Gable)
in Florida.
Michaels maternal grandfather was Velvel Alperovitz of kurenitz. Velvel
had thirteen children (with more then one wife) most of his children came to
the U.S c 1900 and settled in New York. Some if his children were:
1. There was a son Motel  Morris Alperovitz who lived in New York and
changed his last name to Alpert. He had two children.
2. A daughter Chaya Zipa married.. Taryevitz. They had four children. Two of
them never came to the U.S. Motka and Zalman lived in Gorki after the
war. 3.
3. There was a daughter Ester Goss who lived in New York and had a son and a
daughter.
4. Another daughter was liza Dimond of New York
5. Michaels mother was Gitel who was born c 1895. She married Chaim Gitelman
and moved to Krivich to open a shoes manufacturing business. In Krivich Michael
and his sisters were born. (Michael 1920?). Later own the family returned to
Kurenitz. From 1934- 1937 michael attended the "Tarbut" School in
Dolhinov. In 1939 Michael left the Kurenitz area and lived in Gorki. During
the war he was in the far southeast region of the Soviet Union. After the war
ended he was in germany and tried to get papers to go to Israel but was not
able to. During that time he found out that both his mother and his father had
a large family in the U.S that was looking for any relatives who survived. In
1949 he came to the U.S. The only other relatives who survived were the Norman
brothers.
6. Meir Aharon Alperovitz died in Kurenitz before the war. See end of text post
for information about his family.

.
-

Today I called Shalom Norman in Israel.
He told me that every year he attends the memorial meetings for the Jews who
perished in Vileyka. The meetings are held during Purim since most of the residents
of Vileyka and other Jews who worked there from near by shtetls, were killed
during Purim of 1942. In 2002 the meeting will be held on the 28 of February.
Most of Shaloms' family was able to escape from Vileyka by train to Russia during
the first days of the German occupation. Shalom thinks that hundreds of people
from Vileyka were able to escape by trains, and most of the towns Jews
survived.
From reading the Yizkor books of other communities in the area and talking to
people I know that it is not so in other communities. At the most about 10%
of the Jews survived and very few of them were able to escape during the first
days. Most who tried were turned back when they reached the old Polish-Russian
border. Many did not try because they had no idea of the coming horrors.
In 1939 when the Russian invaded they sent people to Siberia but did not kill
any.
So most people in other communities were then under the impression that only
the communist Jews would be in danger from the Germans and others, especially
women and children would be safe.

Later I called Reuven Norman in Israel. Reuven was about sixteen in 1941. I
asked him if he knew if most of the Jews of Vileyka were saved. He said that
hundreds escaped by taking trains and others (like him) later on, but more Jews
from Vileyka perished then escaped. He said that he would try to find the numbers.
He told me that hundreds escaped because Vileyka had a train station and two
trains were able to go deep in to Russia during the first days of the occupation
by Germany. I asked Reuven why his family did not try to escape. He told me
that his father was a guard at the palace in St. Petersburg in 1914. At the
start of World War I he was sent to the front and was captured by the Germans.
He was a P.O.W for four years and felt that the Germans treated him very fairly
during that time. He truly disliked the communists- and said "The Germans
are very civilized people as far as my experience goes- why would they be different
now?"
The family did not question his decision. At that time the father ruled.
A few weeks later, some time in July of 1941 he immediately volunteered to work
when the Germans gave an order to all the Jewish man to come.
With another about fifty Jewish men from Vileyka he was a taken to work. All
day they dug holes in the ground and at the end of the day they were shot and
fell in the holes they dug. Some local Christians, who watched it, later told
their families about it.
Reuven told me that he was hiding in Kurenets with his grandfathers family
during the first months of the war.
His mother was the daughter of Meir Aharon Alperovitz of Kurenitz. She was a
sister to Yermiyau, herzel, Shlomo and Feyga Michla Shmukler. Meir Aharon had
a sister who married an Eidelman in Krivichi and had a son Michael who now lives
in Florida. Yermiyahu and Hertzel Alperovitz died in the Vileyka camp. Both
were very helpful to the other people in the camp and hertzel was one of the
organizers of the escape. Hertzels wife Leyka survived the escape, Her
sister Liba was killed and her husband Mordechai and the two children survived.
After the war Leyka married Mordechai Alperowitz (the father of Yeoash). The
youngest brother Shlomo was a prisoner of war since 1939. (He was in the Polish
army). The family received letters from him for two years until the Germans
started the war with Russia. They do not know where he perished.

.
-

I called Reuven Norman in Israel.
His mother was the daughter of Meir Aharon Alperovitz of Kurenitz. She was a
sister to Yermiyuo, herzel, Shlomo and Feyga Michla Shmukler. Meir Aharon had
a sister who married an Eidelman in Krivichi and had a son Michael who now lives
in Florida. Yermiyahu and Hertzel Alperovitz died in the Vileyka camp. Both
were very helpful to the other people in the camp and hertzel was one of the
organizers of the escape. Hertzels wife Leyka survived the escape, Her
sister Liba was killed during the escape and her husband Mordechai and the two
children survived. After the war Leyka married her former brother in law; Mordechai
Alperowitz (the father of Yeoash). The youngest brother of Hertzel, Yermiyahu
and Feiga( Shlomo) was a prisoner of war since 1939. (He was in the Polish army).
The family received letters from him for two years until the Germans started
the war with Russia. They do not know where he perished.
.
-

you could find a poem by David Krivitsky
at;
http://eilatgordinlevitan.com/kurenets/k_pix/israel/61101_23b_heb_b.gif
The poem was dedicated to "My childhood friend; Chaim Zalman Shulman" It was
written in Yiddish long before the war and printed in the Kurenitz Yizkor book
in 1954.
The poet Aharon Meirovitz translated it to Hebrew and sent it to me a few months
ago.click
for the poem
-

Roger Rice asked; any chance that
Kribitsky and Krivitsky are one in the same?
Yes! They must be- I just misspelled the name. There was a shtetl by the name
of Krivich near Kurenets the family must have come from there when Jews took
last names c 1820's.
I would "love" to have pictures of David and the rest of the family. Also any
stories in English or Yiddish.

"Images" by David Krivitsky

The year is 1880. My gloomy, little hometown is a hamlet surrounded by a thick
forest and wide, open fields. Her lingering and winding streets converge at
the vast, circular focal market. A variety of size and sorts of stores, from
the "huge" mercantile enterprise of Pini, the metal goods merchant, to a tiny
kiosk that belongs to Basha Beyle, the oil merchant, crowd the market. On most
days of the week one would find Jews wandering around the market without purpose.
The arrival of market day signals the awakening of the sleepy town and affords
the poor merchants a flashing glance of prosperity. The hatters repair the hats,
the tailors clean the shabby clothing, and the various peddlers prepare bags
and sacks to buy all manner of produce: from chickens, to potatoes, to hay.
Everyone awaits the farmers that will bring the harvest of their land and toil.
My small shtetl contains 300 families; all together about 1500 souls. Some tailors,
a few shoemakers, a number of blacksmiths, a small amount of butchers, three
big synagogues, and two minyans. A few "melamdim" (teachers), "talmud torah",
and many "chadarim". The big world is far from here, and a foreign concept to
the inhabitants. They know only the neighboring towns Vileyka, Smorgon, and
Molodechno. Of Vilna and Minsk: most townspeople had only heard, very few had
actually traveled so far. Most of the people who had traveled had left originally
to serve under the Tzar's army. These men tell amazing tales, stories that could
not be believed by anybody in their right mind.

There was a young boy named Bentze Dodge's. He was the son of one of the wealthiest
families in the region. His father was an agricultural merchant. They had an
extravagant home in the middle of the central market. Behind the main house
stood their barns and storage rooms. Bentze would never mingle with the town's
children. He was a son of the "highest status family" every one else was beneath
them. It was not matter that could be easily overlooked considering his uncle
was the famous Mr. Bitzkovsky from Smorgon! Bentze had a little puppy, and because
he had to keep it a secret from his father, he hid the puppy in one of the barns,
and there he would feed and care for him. Bentze poured the affection he withheld
from his peers into this little puppy. He would think constantly of new ways
to please the little pet. One day he decided that he would begin warming the
puppy's food. The boy put a makeshift stove in a hidden corner of the barn,
and from then on, he would warm the dog's food. A day came when Bentze was not
carefully watching the cooking. A fire started and spread to the hay that was
next to the little stove, the flames grew and grew. The boy was very scared,
and instead of running home and getting help to extinguish the fire, he escaped
from the barn with the dog, dashed across the adjacent garden, and hid in the
"shtable" (the torah study place) of the Chassidim. It took but a few minutes,
and the whole barn was engulfed in flames. In only an hour all of the homes
and the stores in the central market were in flames. The flames swallowed the
little wooden shacks. Like wild beasts, they jumped from home to home, from
street to street, gaining might with each new conquest, until they consumed
the whole town with a red, burning rage. The little ashes flew to the farthest
homes like smoldering black butterflies. Soon the town was covered with a cloud
of dark smoke. The central market leapt with flames. The confused Jews deserted
the town and ran first to the fields and gardens behind their homes and then
in the direction of the neighboring village of Poken. They carried babies, bags,
and dishes - whatever they could save. At evening time, all that was left of
the community were the fireplaces and the blackened frames of the buildings
that had stood only hours before. The ashes and dust had finally begun to settle.
Broken plates and sacks of bedding cluttered the outlying fields. The abandoned
bits and pieces appeared to the returning townspeople like open graves. As the
smoke disappeared, the totality of the destruction became more and more obvious.
Except for Eliyahu Yehosha's mill, and a few homes in the far end of Miyadel
Street, the whole town had surrendered to the fire. Days passed, and the Kurenitz
community began regaining its old spirit. Townspeople began rebuilding the stores
and houses. When they had finished rebuilding the town was nicer than it had
been before. Ringing the markets were modern, two story homes. The new stores
were built in the fashion of Smorgon. They had even built shelves in the barns.
The new synagogues were larger and more beautiful. How had the inhabitants been
able to afford to rebuild a town that exceeded what they had ever had before
upon the ashes of their old homes? This was a riddle that no one knew how to
answer.

Bentze grew up and was a student in the high school in nearby Vileyka, and when
he graduated, he went to the city of Dvinsk to further his education. In the
town amazing stories about Bentze circulated. The people said that he was so
successful in Dvinsk, that the governor of the whole province respected him
and often invited him to his home for teatime. Others would say that Bentze
was leading a movement to abolish the Tzar's authority. Yet others said that
Bentze was coming to Kurenitz anytime, and would take care of abusive employers
like Asher the haberdasher, that enslaved his assistants, , and Eliahu the blacksmith,
who spent his days in the house of prayers, instead of working in the smithery,
or the shoemaker Yerachmiel. Rumors spread that Bentze was planning to come
to town to assist his relative Masha Bitzkovsky from Smorgon in dividing her
father's riches amongst the laborers.

One morning Bentze appeared! Pandemonium reigned. No one had seen such a personality
before. Bentze was tall, he wore spectacles and a black top hat, and carried
a cane in his hand and a fancy shawl over his shoulders. A few young women who
worked as tailors claimed they knew the truth about this charming and inexplicable
man. This was a prince that pretended to be Bentze and had arrived to search
for his lost princess. It didn't take many days until everyone had discovered
the true reason for his visit. Bentze had remembered for all of his days the
annihilation that had arrived at his hands, and agonized about how to pay for
his crime. He swore a vow that one day he'd repay the town for the destruction
he had caused. And now he had returned to fulfill his promise. Bentze gathered
a group of children, boys and girls belonging to the poorest families and established
a school to teach them Russian and math. His students approached their non-religious
studies with the same enthusiasm as they put into their religious studies. People
in town began expressing their discomfort with what was happening. The religious
people started threatening|But we're talking about Bentze Dodgs', who had drank
tea with the governor of the whole region! I don't know if Bentze repaid the
town for the destruction he caused, but this I know for sure: Bentze helped
to enlighten dozens of boys and girls, and encouraged them to explore the world
passed the pale of settlement They will remember him with deep love, and I am
one of them.

First, thanks for all your work on the terrific Kurenets website. I have been
surfing in search of family history and came across the site yesterday. Towards
the end of the Read Natives, Descendants and Others link is the following "Looking
for family of:" entries- Krivitsky Bessi and David, New Haven, Connecticut and
also Alexander Winnick, attorney, New Haven, Father's surname: Krivitsky.

My grandmother, Lillie (or Libby) Krivitsky was from Kurenets and came to the
US around 1898. Her parents were Aaron and Rose (Stein) Krivitsky. She was married
to Morris Rice (or, more accurately Reis/Reiss) on June 10, 1906 in New Haven.
My great uncle David Krivitsky (Libby's brother) was a Yiddish poet and, I am
told, an anarchist and political radical of his time. I remember David's periodic
visits to New Haven in the 1950's (he slept on my grandmother's sofa, sometimes
for weeks on end). At some point in time I asked about two volumes of Yiddish
poetry and essays published by David, which sat on my father's bookshelf. I
was assured that they were worthless and that I could have them. One book (1948,
Grenich Printing, N.Y.) is entirely in Yiddish (which, unfortunately I don't
read). The second (1959, same publisher) is entitled Fun Bagin Biz Farnacht
(From Dawn to Twilight) and five of the poems are translated into English. Each
book has a picture of David (taken I would guess at ages 50 and 70 more or less).

I have a clear recollection of an exchange between David and a cousin, Leo Zimmerman,
in which David was describing the experience of laying on his back at night
in the Arizona desert and looking up at the stars. Leo wasn't buying the wonder
of David's story and replied, "We have stars in New Haven too" and suggested
that looking at stars wasn't a paying job. I also recall that some time in the
1950's my grandmother received a letter from a niece who was a doctor in Novo
Sibersk. I do not know her name, or what became of her.

Regarding your inquiry about Alexander Winnick and particularly the listing
of "Father's surname: Krivitsky". Al Winnick was for many years the law partner
of my late uncle, Milton Rice. I knew that there was a family relationship but
never quite understood what that was.

I hope that this is somewhat helpful. If you or anyone else want me to copy
David Krivitsky's books or pictures I'd be glad to do so. If anyone has further
information about my grandmother's parents and siblings (birth dates, parents
names etc.), or about David Krivitsky or the Novo Sibersk relatives I would
appreciate any information, including suggestions about how to pursue such inquiries.
Also, I notice that one of the translations in the stories section (entitled
"Images") is by a David Kribitsky. Any chance that Kribitsky and Krivitsky are
one in the same?

Nancy Holdan wrote;
My Svir website is up. It is just for a preview until I get more information.

http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Svir
nholden@interserv.com
I am pasting here some information from the site;
Our Small Town - Swir

Extracts from a book from the Yivo Institute in New York written in Yiddish.
The extracts (ca. 8 pages on the description and history of the town Swir) were
sent to Belarus SIG by Arnold H. Wolfe, who had them translated into English
by a friend.

The town of Swir, where we saw for the first time in our lives the rays of the
sun: the town that first heard our childish delight; the town where our first
tears dropped: the town in which we played and joked throughout our childhood;
this was the town that became a part of ourselves like our own flesh and blood.

A long street with two squares and a few small alleys actually made up the whole
of Swir, and despite the description it was, in our eyes, the children of Swir,
nicer than any other town. Truthfully speaking there were no brick houses in
Swir. It was only one side wall and all the other parts of the house were built
of wood. The roofs were covered either with shingles, metal or plain straw.
Throughout our lifetime many houses grew old. There were houses which were practically
sunken in the earth up to the windows. Some homes did not even have wooden floors.

It was a rarity to have plumbing in the town of Swir. Most of the water was
derived from a well quite far away, and yet it seemed a wonder that no one hated
this place. On the contrary, everyone was tied to this town with their very
lives.

Anywhere a person of Swir was to be found, be it in New York or Los Angeles,
in Buenes Aires or in Cuba, in Paris or in Brazil, in London or Tel-Aviv, in
that place the one same heart was beating. All of them are bound like brothers
and sisters, their lives like one, and all this because of the forlorn little
town in a section of Vilna.

The town was very friendly. Even the nature around us was a witness that our
grandparents knew where to build their homes. From one side a stream, and from
the other side a lake, and the stream actually flows out of the lake near the
houses of the town. Around and around were forests, fields and small towns.
The town was not dipped in milk and honey, rather in green fields and flowers
and as far as the eye could see were various fruit trees. There were apple and
pear trees, plum and cherry trees, and blueberries without end.

During the summer the town was surrounded by ears of corn and stalks of wheat.
In the winter is was covered with a big white blanket of snow. The Jews of Swir
, therefore, lived a very contented life. In the old huts there lived good people
and devoted friends. Everyone felt secure in their homes, like a bird in its
nest, that is, until the wild barber came and the nest together with is birds
was broken and destroyed. Woe! Woe unto the faithful and devoted birds of Swir!
Woe! Woe unto their burned and destroyed nest.

Highlights of the History of Swir
Unfortunately, a lot of historical material and documentation is missing, thus
making it difficult to relate the exact history of Swir. Not only was our whole
city destroyed, but also our cultural and social life was uprooted. We were
physically uprooted from our very origin, as well as geographically lost. The
sources for further basic knowledge are lost to us today. Unfortunately, the
generation that could have enriched us with its knowledge has perished. Yet
we made an effort to relate the history of this town in a concise form.

It is clear that the town carries the name of the great Duke Swerski. His dynasty
ruled for hundreds of years over all the surrounding areas. It is also said
that on the peak of the mountain there stood a beautiful castle. In his honor
not only was the town named after him, but also tens of families named themselves
after the great Duke. It was extremely difficult for us to confirm with certainty
if the families today named Swirski spread throughout the world originated from
Swir.

According to all estimations the Jewish community was is existence for hundreds
of years. The old cemetery can be a witness to this as most graves are sunken
in the earth. The few monuments whose engraving was still legible dated back
one hundred and fifty years. The ledger that had all the deaths recorded on
it, and their place of burial was passed from one generation to the next, and
was an important historical document.

Most Jews of the town wandered in from surrounding towns or close cities. It
is difficult to know today whether they came of ther own free will or because
of the decree from the Czarist regime that Jews must leave the towns. Therefore,
many families who were forced to leave carried the name of their town. The Fuzileher,
Shpialer, Dubnikirer according to the origin of their town, for example, the
Kurgatkes originated from the town of Kureniaz, Miadler and Shuentzianer. The
big fire that broke out at the end of the century practically wiped out the
city. Therefore there are no old historical buildings or antiques left. The
synagogue was rebuilt after the fire in a modern style.

The town endured many wars. Napoleon and his army reached there. There is a
legend that the Swirer hills thinned out through him. Through the First World
War the town practically remained unharmed because the fighting front was further
away by several kilometers. Later however, by the Polish-Bolshevik War in 1920
there was a battle before the town was captured.

The stronghold of the Polish Army was on the hill of Swir, while the yet stronger
Bolshevik Red Army was located at the other side of the river. During the fierce
battle between the two armies which heavily destroyed many homes, the Jews escaped
to the cemetery. The cemetery was in close proximity to the city. The day after
the surrender of the Polish Army the Jews returned to their homes.

They later found out that it was a coincidence that they were saved because
they all hid behind the trees of the cemetery. The Russian Army saw that there
were large groups of people hiding there and mistook them for the Polish. They
were prepared to fire with their artillery when they heard the cry of a child
and the sound of animals. They realized then that they were only civilians.
In that war an eleven year old boy was wounded. He was Velvel, the son of the
Chassid.

The people who remained alive claimed that after the Second World War the greatest
majority of the town was destroyed. The synagogue became level with the earth.
The whole area was virtually uprooted. The Christian neighbors made the area
into gardens. No vestige of Jewish life, as it was, remained. Most tragic of
all, was that from approximately 200 families who lived there, remained only
100 survivors. These people were scattered all over the world, but the majority
of them are in Israel.

Geographical and Economic Situation
Even from a distance of 5 to 6 kilometers the contours of the town are visible
in the blue sky and extend long and narrow. Especially visible is the hill,
the Swir Everest in the middle of the market place, and the Swirer skyscraper
the Yedes wall.

The German occupation of the First World War extended the railroad to Constantine.

Swir is geographically located in west White Russia. The neighboring towns and
distances are as follows:

Kabilnik - 20 Kilometers
Michlisbak - 21 Kilometers
Sventzion - 37 Kilometers
Kurenetz - 49 Kilometers
Smargon - 42 Kilometers
Aside from the fact that the town was above sea level and the paths were cemented,
it was still very muddy on rainy days.

In back of the town there were lots of mud puddles. The farmers used to go to
town through the mud as a short cut. In a dry summer they picked up their pants
to their knees and splashed through the mud. During the fall and Spring it was
impossible to pass through the mud.

On the other side of town the ground was normal.

There were 1900 people in the town of Swir - 1100 Jews and 800 non Jews. Among
the gentiles there were White Russians and Poles. It was difficult to differentiate
who belonged to which nationality, because many rich people found it below their
dignity to admit they belonged to the White Russian nationality. They broke
their teeth in order to speak like Poles and claimed they belonged to the Polish
nationality. They let these people have their way, in letting them think they
were Polish.

The Jews lived in "The Street of the Third of May", which starts at the cloister
and goes till the horse market, a length of about one kilometer. That marked
the boundaries of the town. Many Jews also lived in smaller streets.

The people called Staravieren and tens of families built a village at the side
of the river and called Sloboda.

Most of the Jewish people in Swir were merchants. In front of every house on
the main street where goods were sold, there were many different types of stands.
There were textile, dry goods, hardware, building materials, bakeries, butcher
and other stands as well. For many people these stands were not their only means
of sustenance. In many families it was the job of the wives and daughters to
take care of these stands.

The men were the dealers, and dealt in many different trades. Some dealt with
wheat in large scale production. They used to purchase the wheat at the market
and exported large quantities to Vilna. Another dealt in the same manner with
potatoes, with fruit, with poultry, with eggs, with leather skins, with pig
hair and many others. There were many merchants who were occupied only during
certain seasons of the year, like fruit gardeners. Besides this, there were
many peddlers, and those who worked with their hands like shoemakers and tailors.
The Jews of Swir received the main financial help from the bank and the town's
Jewish Charity Organization. According to a report from Vilna, there were a
total of 140 members who belonged to the Jewish Charity Organization.

The greatest majority of the Jewish congregation lived very modestly, and yet
they were very satisfied and happy. Unfortunately, when the Second World War
broke out this contented life was utterly destroyed.

Dina and Julius Sassinski were brother and sister
Dina was born June 15, 1881 in Kurpnitz
She married Abraham Levine born 1895 in Bialystok, Poland and married 1913 at
Kurpnitz, Vilno, Poland. (she was quite a bit older than Abraham according to
relatives) They had two daughters born in US Sara and Ann. Sara was my mother
in law.
Julius Sassinski married Ann (not sure of her name) and had 2 sons. William
and David.
David was a prisoner and I have his number and Stalag number and a couple of
letters written in 1933 written in Yiddish Hebrew script.
William migrated to Canada via Liverpol to relatives. A cousin Louis Bast (spelling?)
lived in Detroit area.

William and Sara married (1st cousins) and had two children
Jules and Melvin. Jules is my late husband.
William and Sara went by the name William and Sara Leon.

for 17th & 18th century maps, the best place is

.
-

Death Year: 1960
File Number: 05459
Surname: EINBINDER
First Name: NATHAN
Middle Initial:
Sex: Male
Month of Birth:
Day of Birth:
Year of Birth: xxxYOB
Race: White
Hispanic Origin:
Age Units: Years
Age: 82
Month of Death: March
Day of Death: 30
Death State: Connecticut
Death County: New Haven
Death Town: New Haven
Birth : RUSSIA
Birth Town: KURENETS
Marital Status: Married
Decedent's Last Spouse: PEARL
Education:
State of Residence: Connecticut
County of Residence: New Haven
Town of Residence: New Haven

Bela nee Kramnik (her father was from Kurenets) Saliternik (see her story http://eilatgordinlevitan.com/volozhin/vol_pages/vol_stories_eve.html)
sent me two documents. Scanning attached.

The first one is an enquiry she had submitted to The Red Cross in Jerusalem
on December 11th 1941. It is printed in Polish language on a Red Cross official
form as follows: "Salitenik Bela, from Tel Aviv, 7 Nezah Israel St., Palestine
is asking the Red Cross to find out and to let her know the whereabouts and
of her mother Freyda Kramnik and family, from Volozhin, Market Square 7, Novogrudek
District, Occupied Poland - Belarus" . The enquiry bears several stamps
"Jerusalem Postage office", "Palestine Censor pass", "Red
Cross Committee  Geneva" and "January 9 1942".

The second document is the Red Cross in Geneva official answer, typed in Minsk,
dated September 23th 1942. It tells in German language that the Gebits comissar
in Vileyka could not find out Freyda Kramniks whereabouts.

It was all the Red Cross in Minsk agents had to tell.

It happened on the spring and summer months of 1942 when the Nazis executed
hundreds of thousands Jewish families in Belarus. The mass slaughters were accomplished
at daylight, in sight of the local gentiles, accompanied by music, dancing and
ringing the church bells. The sondercomando expeditions acted at this time overall
the entire Belarus-Litwak Yiddish Land. Frantz Karl Hess, second lieutenant
of the thirty second " Zondercommando" had accomplished on may 1942
his bloody acts in Volozhin, Vishnievo, Dolginov and Ivia brutally killing hundreds
of Jewish children, men and women among the thousands executed by his unit and
its local assistants. (See Frranz Karl Hess Trial in Volozhin Yizkor Book, page
576)

It was done before the eyes of the entire local gentile population.

The Red Cross agents certainly knew it, but did not yell. They did not tell
a word.

My grandfather Zalman (Sam) Scolnik
and his brother Jassel(?) emigrated from Kurenets to Lewiston, Maine in 1908
to join another brother Yudel (Julius) who was already there. Another brother
Kalman came to the U.S. about 1890 and was married to a Mary Gurewitz.
Dave Fessler dfessler@houston.rr.com
Houston, Tx USA -

Today I decided to call the Normans
who wrote to the Vileyka site.
I called the information in Israel and asked for the number for Shalom Norman
in Rishon LeZion. I was told that there are two Shalom Niormans in Rishon LeZion!!
I took both numbers and one of them kept ringing busy (always on the net!).
I called the other number and the young man who answered as Shalom Norman said
that he had never seen the Vileyka site but his father Eli was from Vileyka!!
I called Eli Norman from Rishon and he told me that he was born in Vileyka but
he does not know; Shalom or Moshe or Avi Norman. He left Vileyka as a young
boy in July of 1941 when the Germans arrived. He left for Russia with his family
and in the last few years- all who are still alive from his Norman family live
in Israel. His fathers name was Shalom Norman and since he left vileyka as a
very young child he could not give me much information.
Since the other Shalom Norman was still unavailable and it was getting to late
to call in Israel, I called Shalom's brother; Moshe Norman
Woodbridge, CT USA.
Moshe had a "huge" amount of information to tell;
His father; Zvi Hirshel Norman was born in 1924 in vileyka. He was the son of
Shalom and Rosa Norman. (Rosa's family owned a hotel prior to 1939.) Zvi Hershel
had a sister who died of illness long before the war. He had a brother named
Izik who was born in 1929.
Sometime after Vileyka became part of the U.S.S.R (September 1939) Rosa took
her youngest son to Moscow, to visit her brother; Leyzer, A General!!! In the
Red Army.
They found themselves in Russia when Germany invaded the Vileyka area. Zvi Hirshel
Norman took a large amount of money from the store he worked as soon as the
invasion started and boarded a train to Russia. The soviets were very suspicious
of him for his last name that sounded German to them and for the large amount
of money that he had. They decided that he was a spy for Germany and sent him
to Siberia.
Later he Joined the Red Army and after the defeat of the Germans he moved to
Vilna near his uncle; Zusman Norman who also survived the war by escaping to
Russia.
Later zvi Hirsh Norman Married Asia and had; Mosahe who is 54 years old and
Shalom who is 48 years old. Moshe remembers that during the Jewish holidays
his uncle Zusman Norman took him to the synagogue in Vilna.
The uncle; Izik norman(born in 1929 in Vilyka) fell into a bad company and in
his youth lived the live of a" Russian hooligan" robbing trains. As I understand
now he lives in Israel with some of his children; Mote, Rya (in Moscow) and
another daughter.
Other relatives of the Normans; Lived in Haifa; Chanania and his brother Zev
norman,
Their cousin, Yosef Norman who owned a printing house.
Cousin Zila Navon born in Vileyka in 1911- died in Israel last month.'Children;
Sara in California; Zohar, Amnon and Arik in Israel.
Zila"s sister ; Gita Ben Shem Meishi Bezprozvani Z"L had a son; Zohar.
Zusman Norman ( Batia Norman was his wife) was the brother of the
grandfather, Shalom. Their son Peisl Zentechovski (Norman born 1922) lives in
Israel as well as the
daughter Sara gazkes and the grandchildren
relatives in the U.S.; The Kopershtook family; David was a barber and married
Chana, his brorher reuven changed his last name to Cooper.
A sister; Sara married Boris Clor.

I would like to thank the Norman
family for scanning a very important letter they received on August 3, 1944.
I will post the letter on the Vileyka site in a few days.
Here is what the son of Reuven Norman wrote me;
In 1944, My father and his brother did not know what has
happened to their families back in Vileika.
They did not know back then about the holocaust.
They were in Uzbekistan and as soon as they heard on the news that Vileika
was freed from the Nazis, they wrote a letter to the Vileika city council
asking for information about their families and other relatives.

The city (it seems) asked a man named Shmokler to send a reply to people that
asked for information about the Jews who lived in the area prior to the war.
Shmokler was one of the three Jewish partisans from Vileika that survived and
stayed back then in Vileika in 1944.
The reply letter;
Dear Reuven Zusmanovitz; (Reuven, son of Zusman norman)
In reply to your two letters I have some very sad facts to tell you.
your father was killed on the very first pogrom in Vileyka on July of 1941.
Your mother and sister perished during the third pogrom on 3-3-1942.
Barash David, Metuka and Shlomo Leibe; the three sons of Zelik, perished during
the first pogrom. Their wifes and children on the second pogrom; July 30th,
1941.
During that second progrom I also lost my wife, my sister Berta and her twins.
My mother, my brother in law and your aunt; Sara Mirka were killed on 3-3-1942.
The only people who survived -other then me- are;
Nany Shulman, Yosef Norman (son of Baruch)
Mulka Norman (son of David Mordechai the baker)
and Lazer Kopelovitz. We all joined the partisans during the war.Yosef , Mulka
and Lazer did not return yet to Vileika.
Noach Dinerstein, the son of Yosi leibe was also a partisan. He was killed in
action.
When you escaped to Russia my sister's son Aharon Shtieman was with you. I did
not hear from him yet. Could you write me as soon as possible if you know where
he is?
When the Germans left they burned the town - only a few homes in the outskirts
are left standing.Your home is gone. your relatives home is also gone.
Itza meir Bezporzany with his wife and their daughter, Malka- perished on 3-3-1942.

A. Shmokler
Some of the other surviving partisans were:
Shmuel Norman (died 10 yrs ago in Bat-Yam, Israel.)
Yosef Norman (died 2 yrs ago in Haifa, Israel)
After surviving as a partisan during the war, Shmokler (the writer of the letter)
died in 1947 on his way to Israel in a car accident at a refugee camp in Germany.

Names mentioned in the letter:
Barash David is actually Berl David (probably translation
error) who was my grandfather, Zusman Norman brother.
The mentioned Metuka is actually Moshe (probably translation error) who was
also Zusman Norman brother. (my father uncle)
The mentioned Shulman Leibe who was married to my fathers' aunt. His son "Israel
Shulman" is living today in Russia in Rostov and was in contact with my
father a few years ago.
The mentioned 3 sons of Zelik who were my fathers' uncles.
The mentioned Sarah Mirke was my father aunt.

The mentioned Itzhe Meir Bezprozbany was my father neighbor.

By the way, my father his brother and the other "old folks", are excited about
the
fact that you took the trouble to upload some of their heritage to the
internet.
They feel that somehow this gives this information some form of eternity.

Warm Regards
Avi Norman
Israel
mailto:avinor@yahoo.com
.
-

I ran into this page by accident
while researching the name Sklar (Shkliar, Shklyar, etc). My grandparents, Aaron
and Rachel Shklyar (first cousins, both named Shklyar), came from Minsk Goberniye,
but I do not recall the shtetl name.

Although I have not up to this time heard of Dolhinov, I am submitting this
query because I noticed long lists of the names Gitlin and Benenson. My grandmother's
sister Itteh married a Benenson (also a first cousin, exact relationship uncertain),
no children. Two of her other sisters, Riveh Minyeh and Guteh, married Gitlins
(two brothers). Another sister, Esther, married a Henkin (Genkin, Genkind, etc).
There were also two brothers, Zalman and Dodya, who remained in Russia. Both
apparently were killed at Borisov.

My grandmother's mother's maiden name was Drayzin, and my grandfather's mother's
maiden name was Minkoff.

Zalman Shkliar also appears in the Minsk marriage records for 1912, but I am
puzzled as to why only one name is listed in each of these records, some of
them obviously male and others female.

My grandfather had a brother Shimon Shklyar, who apparently died before 1898
and left a wife and two children. His sister Minyeh married an Edelkind. He
also had an apparently much older half-sister (presumably paternal), name unknown.
I say much older because she had a son Maileh Levine, born about 1874, who left
for Israel in 1914.

Can anyone connect with any of these details? Please e-mail me if there are
any connections.

Today I talked with Eda Rosengaus
Feldbaum (via her daughter) who was born in Vileyka in 1902.
her father was Hirsh Rosengaus/Rosenhouse who was born in Vileyka and her mother
Rivka nee Rivlin was born in Kochanow.
During WW1 the family fled to Samara/ Russia exept for the oldest brother who
was able to get false papers for the name "Margolin" to come to New York to
be with his katznelson / Nelson uncle and aunt. two years later he went to Mexico.
After the war the rest of the family returned to Vileyka . By 1921 they all
joined Saul/Paul Margolin (he never changed his name back to Rosengaus) in Mexico.
One sister (Pola) married Shmuel Katzovitz of Vileyka in Mexico. In 1930 Eda
married Sol Feldbaum in NY. Eda kept in touch with friends from Vileyka amongst
them the Bunimewitz/ Benet family of New York.

A collection of essays that examines the culture, politics, and social structure
of Hasidic Jewish life.

http://www.sunypress.edu/sunyp/backads/html/belcove_shalin.html

"Hasidim in the United States is clearly an important subject. There is increasing
in terest in the Hasidic community among other Jews, scholars of religion, and
residents of large urban areas. This book is an excellent anthology of current
research on Hasidic communities in the United States." -- Zalman Alpert, Yeshiva
University
Alpert is a highly
gifted librarian and member of the talented Yeshiva University Library staff.
His articles are usually informative and enriched oft times by knowledge not
normally accessible to others. His article on Rabbi Shimon Rom, a rosh
hayeshivah , printed in the weekly Algemeiner Journal , was a three-dimen-
sional depiction worthy of inclusion in any history of RIETS, the yeshivah of
Yeshiva University. And his observations have probably disconcerted
many complacent authors.
google search for Zalman Alpert of Yeshiva U.- son of Mendel, grandson of Chaim
Yitzhak, great grandson of Avraham David Alperowitz, the Katzav from Kurenitz.

Chabad-Lubavitch, a spiritual travelogue, 4. Juni 1998
Rezensentin/Rezensent: Zalman Alpert (alpert@yu1.yu.edu) aus New York City
The 6th Lubavitcher rebbe is quoted as saying that there were 3 types of Lubavitcher
chassidim,those who study the doctrines of Chabad, those of Chabad descent,
and those who observe Chabad customs and pray according to the Chabad rite,may
I add 1 more type , the Chabad Hassid devoted "Mekushar" to the rebbe, . In
the last 50 years the latter category has dominated the Chabad scene,as Chabad
became inseparable from its 7th generation leader, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson
(died 1994). This book is authored by men who fall into the first 3 categories
of Chabad Chassid. Alpert descended from the well known Alperowitz clan of White
Russia speaks for those who were never completely comfortable with being a follower
of Rabbi Schneerson, yet were spiritual seekers, and proud of their Chabad heritage.
Naor's introduction is an excellent short summary of the intellectual history
of the movement, and is especially useful for its copious notes of various origin.
Alpert's stories are memorable, yet a feeling of gloom, depression and death
hang over them. Chabad stresses joy, celebration,inwardness but not gloom, and
loss of hope, interestingly no where do Alpert and Naor discuss the role humor,
joy drinking, and communal celebration play in the life of Chabad. In addition
I can't understand why Naor does not discuss the role prayer and meditation
play in Chabad. As a historical note, I wonder why Naor does not mention Rabbi
Israel Noach Schneersohn of Nezhin as a Chabad rebbe ?Finally Naor and Alpert
choose not to discuss Chabad since 1994, do they have any thoughts on the future
? The book leaves me with 2 unanswered questions : Who is Reuven Alpert ? and
will there be another Lubavitcher rebbe?

First of all, I would like to congratulate you for the excellent work you have
done, to put all this valuable information together. I was very impressed with
the web site...my sincerely thank you.

Since you had studied a lot about Kurenets, I believe you can help me and my
family to better understand what have happened with my ascendants and who knows,
contact a relative. My grand father came from Kurenets to Brazil in 1929. He
had studied in 2 Yeshivot in the region (Minsk and one more) and after receiving
letter from a uncle that had migratted to Brazil, he came here to meet him -
the anti-semitism in Polland / White Russia was already fearing the Jews.

His name is Isaac Alperowitch, son of Israel de Kassaf (the butcher) and Chaja.
My grandpa had 4 brothers and 2 sisters: Shmeron, Zundel, Yoshke, Abram David,
Itkha and Chana. Israel de Kassaf Alperowitch (my g grandfather) was son of
Abram David and Hassia. Chaja, my g grandmother was daughter of David and Chassy.

I know there were a number of families Alperowitch at Kurenets, but I would
like to know if you know this specific part of the family, and /or have any
information about their fate.

I thank you in advance

Best Regards

Fernando Alperowitch

São Paulo, Brazil

Dear Fernando,
I am so happy to hear from you. About a year ago I called your grandfather in
Brazil to tell him about the site.
I am in touch with the grandchildren of your great grandfather (Israel) brother;
Yiza Michael who was murdered at a young age c 1910; Shimon Zimerman is the
son of Zirel nee Alperovitch (first cousin of your grandfather)
You could read his story at http://eilatgordinlevitan.com/kurenets/k_pages/stories_zimmerman.html
Yehoash Alperovitch is the son of Liba, the sister of Shimon Zimermans' mother.
You could read his story at;
http://eilatgordinlevitan.com/kurenets/k_pages/stories_ghetto.html
http://eilatgordinlevitan.com/kurenets/k_pages/stories_blockade.html
I also talked to Zalman Alpert of Yeshiva University (New York) the son of Mendel
(son of Chaim Yizhak the brother of your great grandfather; Israel)
There was another first cousin of your grandfather; Zalman. He was a very well
known Chabad Rabbi;
http://eilatgordinlevitan.com/kurenets/k_pages/stories_2kurenetsers.html
I will post your note so they will know that you are looking for them.
Many wrote about Israel the Katzav the son of Avraham David who was also a Katzav
http://eilatgordinlevitan.com/kurenets/k_pages/stories_3years.html
.....
How we envied the birds that were free to sing and call each other, while we
were here, whispering, walking on our tip-toes, lost and fearful, not knowing
what danger zone we might reach next. All of a sudden, I smelled smoke. In panic,
we leapt into the bushes, fearing that there were people nearby who might see
us. Our eyes were searching, our ears were listening, and our minds wondered
what the origin of this smoke could be. Could it be shepherds from the neighboring
village that made a bonfire in the woods? Or maybe it was Jews who had escaped?
All of a sudden, I saw a group of people, gathered a short distance from the
road. It was Israel Alperovitz, our town's butcher, his wife Chaya, their son
Yosil, and the wife of Zondil their other son. They must have heard us approaching,
because they ran into the forest. I wanted to calm them down, but I knew it
was dangerous to yell, so I waved my hands and gave them signals saying that
they should lie on the ground. They recognized me, and lay down on the ground,
sighing with relief. When we reached them, we asked them why they had chosen
a rest place so near the road. Not only were they resting there, but they had
started a bonfire that could easily reveal their whereabouts. Israel replied
that they were afraid to enter the deep woods. The women asked desperately,
"What will happen to us? Who will be with us? Where will we go?" I was very
familiar with the surrounding area and I said, "First we must go to the deeper
woods, in the middle of the forest, as far as we can from the road. " I was
still full of energy, and eager to fight against our bitter fate. My senses
were sharpened, and in my heart I had many ideas and thoughts about how to survive.
But they looked so defeated. We walked towards the deeper woods for about an
hour. When I thought that we were a good distance from the road, we sat down
and built a small bonfire. Israel brought out from his bag his talit and tfilin,
and said, "Look, Yitzhak. God bless, I succeeded in taking this so that at least
I will have a talit at the hour of my death." We sat on the ground and Israel
told us how he was saved, and how he succeeded to leave town on the day of the
slaughter: Early in the morning, he had walked to the minyan to pray. He made
his way through the empty lots amongst the homes in the alley. While he was
walking, he ran into some Jews who told him that the Germans had come into the
town and were kidnapping Jews. Immediately, he ran home and led his family to
their hiding place under the floor, where they sat the entire day. At night
they abandoned their hiding place, and walked to Poken village, to the home
of the gentile Kashtzook, who was extremely gracious. He took them under his
wing, gave them a loaf of bread, and walked with them all the way to the forest.
Israel was a very religious Jew. He didn't touch the bread. All he ate were
the potatoes he had baked in the fire. Around three in the afternoon, a young
village girl who looked about seventeen, came from the woods. When she saw us,
she waved as if she was giving us a signal, and then she ran away. We still
don't know how to explain the signal. A few minutes later there was a barrage
of gunshots that seemed to come from the side of the road. We stomped the fire
out, destroyed any signs of our having been there, and ran into the woods. I
ran first, and everyone else was behind me. We ran for five kilometers, until
we found a niche hidden between two small hills, where we lay until darkness
came. Where Are We Going? We were three families traveling together. The Rugbin
family, Israel Alperovitz family, and my family. We all wondered where exactly
we were. The children were lying quietly, saying nothing. They were not a burden.
It was as if they understood that we were in a world of horrible occurrences,
and that they had to be responsible and acclimate themselves to the situation.
We were thirsty and hungry. I estimated that we were somewhere near the village
Hob. I remembered that near the village there was a little river, named Maentenna.
From my estimation, we were also about three kilometers from the village Stidiyonka.
The villagers from Stidiyonka were known as very cruel gentiles. So where should
we go, to Hob or to Stidiyonka? In Hob I also knew there were many isolated
farm houses, and that lessened the danger, so we chose to go to Hob. We held
hands as we walked so that we wouldn't get lost in the darkness. It was the
middle of the night by the time we reached the river. We didn't have any cups
or anything else we could drink from, so we all fell to the ground and drank
directly from the river. From there, we walked through the fields and headed
towards the first farm we encountered. There was no light in the house. When
we knocked, the farmer asked, "Who is there?" I answered, "Itzka from Kurenitz,
the son of Netka from Shvashzapole". He knew me before the war. He approached
the window and gave me half a loaf of bread and some onions. We went on, to
another farm, and there they also gave us half a loaf. We took some vegetables
from the garden, as well as a big gourd that was next to one of the fences,
and with all these supplies we returned to the women and children that were
waiting at the edge of the river. It was getting very late. We didnt have
a watch, but we knew it was after midnight. We entered the woods, but couldn't
find our original spot. For three hours we roamed around. All of a sudden Israel
said, "My dears, I have no energy to continue. I'll stay here." He was much
more tired than the rest of us because he didn't eat the bread, so we stopped
and lay down on the ground, bundling up with each other. When we woke up, it
was already light. A plane flew over the woods, and the sound was unbearable.
We realized that today was Rosh Hashanah. Israel put on the talit, stood next
to a tree and prayed. He announced that we must pray for all of our townspeople.
When he said this, we all started to cry, and we couldn't console ourselves.
This was the first big cry after fifteen horrible months. We cried for all that
had occurred to us. As the sunset, we continued our journey. We walked towards
the village Tzavolitkes. When we were about three hundred meters from the village,
we met with more of the towns surviving Jews. To my surprise, my sister Rivka
with her husband and children, my brother Hilka with his wife, and the daughter
of my other brother were among them. I never imagined that anyone of my family
survived. They, in turn, had never imagined that I had survived. They lived
on Mydell Street, at the spot where the murderers started the killing spree.
Once again, we stood there crying, and then continued our journey. Now we had
twenty-seven people among our ranks. We entered the village. It was clear to
us that as Jews, we belonged to the night. The night, from now on, would be
our day. The gentiles didn't dare leave their homes at night. They feared the
dark. In this village, we got some bread and onions. That night, we rested in
an area between the villages Varoniyatz and Tsavolitzkes, in the middle of the
forest. The night was cold, the forest was very dry, and we were dying of thirst.
We squeezed plants and sucked their juices. All of sudden, Rogovin remembered
that in one of the farms there was a villager that owed him some money for a
sewing machine he had bought. We searched for the house of this gentile, and
he gave us bread and a pail of milk. We went to him before nighttime. He refused
to .....
Machum Alperovitz wrote....
On those days of horrors, the Jews of the town were not allowed to have contact
with each other, so we don't even know the extent of rebelling, particularly
in the cases of families who did not survived. However, even the little that
we know makes me feel deep respect for my townspeople. Another tale I must tell
is that of Israel Alperovich.

Israel was a deeply religious Jew. When he escaped with his family to the woods,
he continued keeping Kosher. He starved for many days but did not allow himself
to eat the bread and other food brought from the villagers, fearing that the
food was not kosher. Israel only ate potatoes that he baked in the fire and,
eventually, he died of starvation. I see much heroism in his deed: he never
lost his spiritual essence and his deep beliefs. When I compare his final journey
to the journey of the many thousands of Russian POW's who while passing trough
our town fought each other to get to food that was thrown to them, I can particularly
respect him.
http://eilatgordinlevitan.com/kurenets/k_pages/stories_n_alperovich.html
Nachum Alperovich: Chapters from the UndergroundIsrael
story;
-

I found the names of two brothers
who were born in Kurenets To Nachum Castroll (Hashochet) who died c 1915.
Nachum Alperowitz was his grandson (nachum's mother Pesia was his daughter)

Costrell, Edwin. Wrote a book; How Maine Viewed the War, 1914-1917. Univ. of
Maine Studies, Second Series, No. 49, 1940. A study in public opinion
Here is what Nachum wrote abour his uncles; At our house, my mother's brothers
were often mentioned. Two of her brothers left for America before I was born,
My mother's other brother in America was Chanan Castroll(Edwin). He was the
secretary of the Communist party in New York. In 1938, he was a member of a
committee that went to Moscow, and people said that he even met Stalin! Hence
it must have been a familial trait the interest in political action....
ANNIE nee Alperowitz COSTRELL
SSN 373-70-9954 Residence: 48219 Detroit, Wayne, MI
Born 15 Dec 1885 Last Benefit:
Died Jan 1974 Issued: MI (1973)

SOLOMON COSTRELL son of Nachum Hashochet and ? nee Alperovitz from Kurenets
SSN 381-32-1706 Residence: 48075 Southfield, Oakland, MI
Born 5 Jul 1884 Last Benefit:
Died Dec 1967 Issued: MI (1951)
her brothers left for America before I was born, one of them (SOLOMON COSTRELL)
had a candy store. His financial situation was not great and I remember that
in one of his letters he wrote, "I have a sweet business with a sour income."

I would like to congratulate Nancy
Collier Holden nholden@interserv.com and Chaya Lupinsky mailto:lupinsky@netvision.net.il
for the most beautiful and informative job they have done in creating a site
for Myadel
http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/myadel/index.htm
From the site map;
Myadel ~ Stary Myadel ~ Miadel ~ Miadelai ~ Miadziol ~ Miadziel ~ Stary Miadziol
~ Nowy Miadziol
in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ~ Poland ~ Russia ~ United Soviet Socialist
Republics ~ Belarus
The Myadel Region: Myadel ~ Stary Myadel
1. Region of Calm and Dreaming Lakes Part I (Three part article from a biography
of Rabbi Eliahu Gordon)
The Myadel Region (links to maps and locators, geology, geography, industry,
architecture and travel)
Aerial Map of Myadel Landscape
Print enlarged Aerial Map
2. How Miadziol adopted Family Names Part II
Surnames in Myadel

1923 Myadel Business Directory

Households in Myadel
Printable Map

Lithuanian State Historical Archives
Supplemental Lists

Miadziol 1765

Miadziol 1784

Stary Miadziol 1765

3. Jews and Lithuanians Part III
History of the Jews in the Myadel Region (links to history, timelines, Jews
in the Pale of Settlement)

Life in Myadel by Arye Geskin

Rabbi Avraham Shmuel Kosczevsky of Myadel

Pandemics 1800-1900 in Myadel Region

Deaths in Myadel 1811-1831

The cemetery in Myadel 30th of August, 1941

Memorial 1993

To my dear friends Miadler (An open letter from Sarah and John Alper of Canada)

Memorial and names from the murder site, September 21 1942

Deaths in Myadel 1941-1944

4. Photographic Portraits of the Myadel Region
5. Contacts
From the Visitors Journal;

I have always tried to form a picture of the towns in the Myadel Region, especially
Myadel and Kobylnik.

I wanted to walk on the streets of our past. I longed to see the stream where
the fish were caught; the river where my great great grandfather set the cut
trees adrift; the lake when the sun set; the dusty roads that led to Vilna and
the forests where the wolves howled. My grandmother was born there. My great
grandfather ran the mill nearby. My great great grandmother had a store on the
Jewish Street. My great great great grandfather was the box tax collector. My
family lived in Myadel for at least seven generations before coming to America
in 1894.

This site is my patchwork. It longs for your stories and your family names.
It will be richer for the memories of all our ancestors. In hopes that I have
been able to bring you some of what I longed for, please contribute your comments.

One of the Myestetchkos in that region is that of Myadsiol. Its history goes
back more than eight centuries and is quite prominent on mediaeval geographical
maps. Local legends ascribe to it great prominence in the period of the ancient
Lithuanian monarchy. Its Jewish community, numbering about 200 souls, is also
of very remote beginnings. Most of them bear the family name Gordon, while the
remainder of the surnames are Hodosh. Gordon and Hodosh are still predominating
names in the membership list of the Myadsiol Benevolent Association of New York
City, the president of which is Mr. L. Gordon, a brother of Rabbi E. Gordon.
According to local tradition the surname Gordon was suggested for adoption by
one of the Jewish burghers of Myadsiol, a business woman, who on her travels
met venerable merchants by that name. But, as a matter of fact, the Gordons
seem to be related to the reputed Gordons of Bialystock. The surname Hodosh
is said to have been bestowed upon the latter settlers of Myadsiol to denote
their recency; Hodosh, meaning "new" in Hebrew.

ELIAHUS PARENTS AND CHILDHOOD

One of the most esteemed citizens of Myadsiol was David Zeeb Gordon (d. Oct.
24, 1913),*(all dates are according to the Gregorian Calendar) who with his
wife Esther Hayah (d. April 12, 1917) represented the ideal type of Lithuanian
Jewry. Well versed in the Bible and Rabbinical lore, virtuous and upright above
all praise, with almost saintly piety and meekness and with the ever hopeful
endurance that sweetened and gladdened their toilful life, they were living
examples of the righteous and pious eulogized in the Psalms. On February 27th,
1865, Esther Hayah gave birth to her first child, Elijah, who was immediately
consecrated to a divine life. Elijah entered one of the local Heders at the
age of five and his unusual intelligence very shortly won for him the fame of
a prodigy. The facility with which he acquired the difficult parts of the Hebrew
Bible and the keen pilpul (casuistry) of the Talmud, was above any precedent
in his birthplace and in the neighboring Jewish towns. After he had been transferred
from one Melamed (teacher) to the other, they finally decided that he exhausted
their erudition and by their advice he was sent to the Rabbinical school of
Smorgoni, about 60 viersts north of Myadsiol, under the presidency of Rabbi
Loew Lichtmacher, His preciosity amazed his new masters and when he reached
the age of thirteen he was transferred to the Mayleh Yeshiva of Vilna, founded
in 1832.

from Marriages in Minsk in 1912,
registered by Rabbi Khanelis (Khaneles)
http://www.jewishgen.org/belarus/minsk_marriages.htm
Abraham- Shimon Alperovitz son of Aizik from the Jewish community of Kurenets
age 26 (in 1912)Vitness; Tankelevich
Anta Cherny son of Girsh from the Jewish community of Dolhinov age 38 in 1912
was married before to Guttman? divorced vitnessed by Kharlip Abram
Marysia Dinerstein daughter of Khaim from the Jewish community of Kurenets age
29 in 1912 vitness Movshe Rubinstein
Dimenshtein L:eiba father; Rafael, from the Jewish community of Kurenets age
25
vitness Pogorlski Shimonclick here for
the entire list
-

Tikhon Bykov is my third cousin (I
am almost sure). My great grandmother; Frada nee Alperovitz had a brother Solomon-
Yitzi who moved to Gorki and had two daughters. Tikhon great grandfather was
Solomon Yitzhak Alperovitz http://eilatgordinlevitan.com/kurenets/k_pix/russia/r1_big.jpg
- he moved from Kurenets to Gorki and had two girls.
Tikhon visited with us last year and I gave him some pages from the 1816, 1834
and 1850 revision lists of Kurenets that I received from Ed Anders and Ronnie
Greenberg (both Alperovitz of Kurenets descendants)

Today I received an email from Tikhon;
... I am sending these files with translations to you. Some of
those papers are very hard almost impossible to read, so if I could not
read it, I just put "..." in the file. Sometimes I could read, but I was
not sure that I read it correctly, in that case I just used a gray
color for those names. Also about spelling, sometimes it is very
different to find an appropriate translation of those Russian letters and
sounds to English, maybe it will be even easier to translate this to
Hebrew. Anyway I was trying to have them sound in English approximately
like in Russian, so it may be different from traditional English
spellings of these names. You can change it. All second men's names are
names of the father (according to Russian tradition), I just removed
from all of them Russian ending "ovich" which "means son of" .
Unfortunately those papers are just a small part of complete lists of
1816, 1834 and 1850 revisions. If we only could have all of them, I am
sure we could trace several generations for all families.
I would like to thank Tikhon. I will post what he sent me on the Kurenets site
in a few days. I am pasting here a copy.
Revision list of 1816, August, Vilna guberniya, Vileyka district, Jewish community
of Kurenets.

This is probably the list of people for some year later than 1850, but it does
not have any title, so I do not know exactly, what it is, it has some comments
in the last column, but I can hardly read it
Name Family #
Alperowitz Movsha Zuskov 205
Alperowitz Ab Moysha 16
Alperowitz Pinkus Yuda 20
Alperowitz Ruben ZemkovHis son Zelih 158 . 158
Alperowitz Zalman Leyba .1855
Alperowitz Abram Aaron His son Leyba 131 was omitted in 131
Alperowitz Abram David 55 Was found in Kurenetz
Alperowitz Itzko Gershon 9
Alperowitz Morduh Antzel His son Zemih Movsha 34 was omitted in 34
Alperowitz David Kopel His son Itzko 3
Alperowitz Morduh David 55
Alperowitz Leyba BoruhHis son David 1 was omitted in 1
Alperowitz Boruh Itzko . 1 Was found in Kurenetz
Alperowitz Morduh Yudka . 66 Was found
Alperowitz Zalman Boruch His son 1.Shmuylo2. Abram 65was omitted in 65
Alperowitz Aaron Wolf 15
Alperowitz Shmuylo Itzko His son Srol 58was omitted in 58
Alperowitz Zalman Leyba His son Berko 50was omitted in 50
Alperowitz Moysha Rafail . 16
Alperowitz Leyba Meyer His son David 99 was omitted in 99

.
-

from http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/board/an/surnames.alpert
My father was Philip and my mother was Virginia. My father's father was Martin
H and his mother was Lena. My father had a brother Simon(moved to Detroit)and
Ted(New York) and a sister possibly vivian(now maybe yesowitch(sp). My brothers
and sisters are Barbara, Robert, Jerome(red),Marc, Alan and Dorothy. My dad
grew up in bayonne, New Jersey and I think his dad came through Ellis island.
I need help on my grandparents siblings,if any, and my greatgrandparents and
further. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks Martin H. Alpert
I am the daughter of Rubin Alpert and I am looking to communicate with the children
of Hyman or Benjamin or Israel Alpert. All lived in Brooklyn , New York .
Rochelle Alpert
Looking for any/all individuals of known
Russian descent with previous surname:
Alperovich(Hyman and Minnie Alperovich)
Steve Alpert
i know that my maternal grandfather was from Russia and that he emigrated in
the early part of the 20th century and ended up in NY with the name Alpert -
Samuel Alpert. i wonder if there is any relationship here. My grandfather was
supposed to go into the Russian army, but he was studying to be a cattle slaughterer
(shocket[sp]) and in order to avoid being drafted, he traveled to Germany and
escaped. He settled in NY, began a grocery business, married and had 3 daughters,
one of whom is my mother. I was excited when i saw the name "Alperovich" because
my mom had told me so many times how he came to NY and since the immigration
officers couldn't pronounce his name, gave him the name of Alpert.SherryWe are
cousins Martin !!!

My dad was Simon, your Dad's brother. I grew up in Detroit and moved to California
to finish my undergraduate degree at the University of Southern California.
I stayed in California and graduated Loyola Law School.

I knew your brother Bobby and Red and your sister the best. Your sister and
her then husband attended my wedding nearly 31 years ago in California. Your
brother Bobby and your dad my Uncle Phil attended my father's funeral and I
had an opportunity to during walks around the block get to know Bobby a lot
better than I had. Red and I got to know each other when I visited Long Island
at Grandma Lena's. We drank period.

My wife is Arlene, and is a teacher. We have 2 son's, Brett and Scott. Brett
is 26 and coordinates all of the financial planning services for Merrill Lynch's
Century City, California office and has his own private client base. He graduated
from University of California at Santa Barbara, magna cum laude. He was a great
baseball player who ended his career with a stress fracture in one of his vertebra.
Our younger son Scott is 23 and is currently backpacking through Europe. He
graduated last December from University of Arizona in Tucson. Prior to UofA
he played excellent football and ran track and now is belted in Jujitsu, Krav
Maga and Grappling(spelling?).He won the Tucson, Arizona open tournament last
year as a first degree brown belt, surprising many. He will have his black belt
as soon as he goes back for the testing. His intent is to go into law enforcement
when he returns.

My mother Rogie is still living in Detroit(Oak Park to be exact) and my brother
Terry and his two young daughters and wife are living in Bloomfield Hills (Detroit
area).

Me, I am a lawyer by trade, a commercial and constrution arbitrator, a City
of Los Angeles Airport Commissioner, A County of Los Angeles Judicial Procedures
Commissioner, the co-chair of the State of California Business Advisory Commission
and Chairman of the Board of the Encino-Tarzana Regional Medical Center in the
Los Angeles area, among other things. Lee

Now, where are you and tell us about your family, please.
I am the son of Sidney Alpert, late of Chicago and grandson of Israel Alpert
of
Bangor, Maine brian alpert
My Grandmother's maiden name was Eva Alpert. I know her father owned a farm
in Maine and that he had children from a previous marriage. I believe some moved
to NY. My grandmother stayed in Maine and Massauchusetts. We are from the Boston
area.

I noticed that you had family from Maine so I was curious since there are not
many Jewish people in Maine. Although my uncle (father's brother) lives in Bangor.

Yartzeit of R. Zalman of Korenitz,
student of the Alter Rebbe, 5598 [1837]. On the day before his passing, he said
Chasidus about Yud-Tes Kislev, "His soul will rest in good," and 'in good,'
'BTov,' is Gematria: nineteen". (Beis Rebbe)

From; http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/a/l/p/Richard-H-Alpert/GENE2-0001.html
REUVEN2 ALPEROVITZ (ABRAHAM ELIHU?1) was born 1868, and died May 19, 1916 in
Sheboygan, WI. He married ZLOTTA ZLOTTA FRANCIS FANNY KOPOLOWITZ. She was born
1872 in Kurenitz, Belarus, and died on April 10, 1945.
Notes for REUVEN ALPEROVITZ:
!Twin of Louis. Death Certificate#377 in Book #17 in the Sheboygan County Building
dates birth in 1872. He is listed as a peddler. His twin Louis's Death Certificate#
328 Book # 40 dates his birth in 1869. It is likely that the 1868 date is
off the gravestone in the cemetery in Kohler.
Notes for ZLOTTA ZLOTTA FRANCIS FANNY KOPOLOWITZ:
! Frances (Zlata) Kopolowitz Alperovitz brought her five children to America.
They are listed on the manifest of alien passengers for the United States as
traveling on the S.S. Rhein that sailed from Bremen, Germany on December 30,
1909.

At the time Sarah was 11, Hilda 9, Jennie 6, Max 4 and Ceil was 3. Zlata was
33 years old at the time. She arrived with her family in Baltimore Md's port
on January 16, 1910. There was not enough money for train tickets to Sheboygan,
Wisconsin so she hid two of her children under her skirt. On route she got off
to buy food. The train left without her, separating her from her children. She
spoke only Yiddish, nor could she read or write English, but somehow made herself
understood. The train personnel were informed fo her dilemma and communicated
ahead to the train that the children were on. Zlata was sent on another train
and was reunited with her children. Karen Entous believes her birth year was
1876.
Reuven Alperovitz most likely came to America in April 1905 with his older brother
Nissan. They traveled on the SS Yarland and arrived in Baltimore Maryland. Reuven
made a return trip to Europe and arranged for the rest of his family to
immigrate to America. Lori Napuck 7-18-1986 Mark Alpert 12-30-1986 Sheboygan
Wisconsin Court House 7-1986 National Archives in Washington, D C 12-1986

ZLOTTA FRANCIS FANNY KOPOLOWITZ:
Burial: Kohler, WI

Reuven and Zlata Alperovitz attended the Ahavas Sholem Synagogue on 13th Street
in Sheboygan and lived on John Court and 15th Street. They came to America because
it was a free country and they could make a better life here. They
followed relatives and friends who came from Minsk Gubernia, Belorussia. Their
granddaughter; Karen Alpert Entous thinks that the Sheboygan, Wisconsin, area
was very similar to the area that they came from. A big city would not have
appealed to them. They preferred open country areas. Reuven was a shoemaker
in Russia and a junk peddler in Sheboygan. Karen's father, John Alpert, remembers
making the rounds with him and eating at a local bar which served free lunches
when you ordered a beer.

Reuven died from complications of appendicitis. He left a wife and 8 children.
He must have been in his 40s at the time. The family struggled to exist. Max
and John started working at early ages. They had a newspaper route selling
the Liberty magazine. Zlata died in her seventies. John remembers that she had
a lovely voice and loved to sing.

More About REUVEN ALPEROVITZ:
Burial: 1916, Kohler, WI

Children of REUVEN ALPEROVITZ and ZLOTTA KOPOLOWITZ are:
26. i. SARAH3 ALPEROVITZ, b. June 15, 1898, Kurinitz, Belarus; d. November 24,
1961.
26. SARAH3 ALPEROVITZ (REUVEN2, ABRAHAM ELIHU?1) was born June 15, 1898 in Kurinitz,
Lithuania, and died November 24, 1961. She married MEYER GOLDWATER September
09, 1917. He was born March 14, 1892 in Manchester, England, and died February
02, 1958. MEYER GOLDWATER:
! Grocer.
Children of SARAH ALPEROVITZ and MEYER GOLDWATER are:
64. i. ROBERT4 GOLDWATER, b. July 21, 1918, Sheboygan, WI; d. July 09, 1985.
JUNE GOLDWATER

JAMES GOLDWATER, b. May 08, 1923, Sheboygan, WI; d. April 08, 1945, World War
II.
Notes for JAMES GOLDWATER:
! Died in World War II.
HARRIET GOLDWATER

. JENNIE GNESHE3 ALPEROVITZ (REUVEN2, ABRAHAM ELIHU?1) was born October 04,
1900 in Kurinitz, Lithuania, and died December 15, 1977. She married ABRAHAM
STEIN February 25, 1921. He was born January 26, 1896 in Russia, and died June
04, 1982.

! Aunt Jennie was known for her delicious Jewish cooking. Somehow the walls
of their home were expandable and there was always room for everyone. She spend
days preparing for the feast and kept kosher. I always looked forward to a trip
to
Sheboygan to visit family. After the family meal, the cousins took off and played.
Eventually we go tired running up and down the stairs and found a place to lie
down until it was time to go home. My favorite place was one of the side
bedrooms with all the fur coats on the bed. It made a wonderful cozy place to
be while they drank schnapps and played cards. Karen Alpert Entous.

29
29. v. CELIA CEIL ALPEROVITZ, b. December 18, 1907, Kurinitz, Belarus.
CELIA CEIL3 ALPEROVITZ (REUVEN2, ABRAHAM ELIHU?1) was born December 18, 1907
in Kurinitz, Lithuania. She married (1) JACK KRAMER April 10, 1927. He was born
in NY, NY, and died May 23, 1942. She married (2) CHARLES LEVY September 01,
1957. He died September 01, 1957.

Notes for CELIA CEIL ALPEROVITZ:
! Worked at Prange's in sales in Sheboygan.

30. vi. JOHN ISAAC ALPERT ALPEROVITZ, b. November 14, 1910, Sheboygan, WI.
JOHN ISAAC ALPERT3 ALPEROVITZ (REUVEN2, ABRAHAM ELIHU?1) was born November 14,
1910 in Sheboygan, WI. He married BIRDIE GLADYS FERN HOFFMAN March 08, 1936
in Wausau, WI. She was born January 15, 1912 in Duluth, MN.
In 1932 John J.(?) Alpert and John H. Alpert ( a first cousin) were partners
in a produce warehouse on Calumet Drive in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. In 1933 John
J. started the original ABC Market in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. The store was located
at
10th and Washington. Originally the building was a movie theatre. John was looking
for a permanent location to sell produce. In 1934, he added grocery items to
sell in the store. His brother Max was a partner with a first cousin at the
Levitan Fruit Company. John asked him to join him as a partner in 1936. In 1936,
John and Max opened another store in Appleton, Wisconsin. Birdie and John were
just married. Max, Bertha, ohn, and Birdie actively sought out the location.
They
liked the area. John and Birdie took an apartment on the top of Voek's Meat
Market on College Ave. John ran the store at 206 East College Ave. Same Belinke,
Bertha's brother, worked for John in Appleton from 1936 to 1938. Max continued
the
operation of the Manitowoc store. Morrie Schuster, a brother-in-law, worked
in Manitowoc from 1937 to 1947. At the end of World War II, in about 1947, John
bought out Max's interest in the two stores and took in Ray Alpert, a first
cousin.
Ray ran the existing Manitowoc store at 10th and Washington. In 1954, John and
Ray built the new ABC Supermarket at 2001 Washington St. In 1959 Ray bought
out John's interest and John retired. The Appleton store was closed in 1957.
In 1960,
John and Birdie moved to Florida after selling all their interests in Wisconsin.
His retirement lasted five years. In 1965 he joined a wholesale produce company
in Miama, Florida and sold produce to supermarkets in the Miama area. In 1979
John left the Miami market and operated his own wholesale produce business in
Broward and Palm Beach county. In 1986 he conduced business from November to
June in his newly designed custom built truck.

Children of JOHN ALPEROVITZ and GLADYS HOFFMAN are:
74. i. KAREN4 ALPERT, b.
75. ii. RENE ALPERT, b.
31. MARY3 ALPEROVITZ (REUVEN2, ABRAHAM ELIHU?1) was born September 07, 1912
in Sheboygan, WI, and died May 20, 1985. She married MORRIS SCHUSTER March 22,
1936. He was born April 24, 1910 in Ruda, Poland.
Notes for MARY ALPEROVITZ:
!Salesperson. Named after Mary Markinau Alperovitz, her paternal grandmother.

Children of MARY ALPEROVITZ and MORRIS SCHUSTER are:
76. i. ROSALIE4 SCHUSTER, b.
77. ii. RABBI STANLEY SCHUSTER, b.
78. iii. MICHAEL SCHUSTER, b.
32. ETHEL3 ALPEROVITZ (REUVEN2, ABRAHAM ELIHU?1) was born September 15, 1915
in Sheboygan, WI, and died April 06, 1985. She married MACK WINKLER June 12,
1938. He was born February 12, 1921 in Chicago, IL.

http://eilatgordinlevitan.com/kurenets/k_pix/scenes_old/112901_kos_b.gif
I would like to thank Moshe Kramer and his family for the great pictures of
Kurenitzers that they gave me to post on the site.
Moshe is the son of Menachem Mendel and Chana nee Ayesheski Kramer .
The grandson of Yehoshua Leib Hacohen Kramer and Ashka.
Moshes' mother is the sister of Gershon Ayesheski and Batia Gurevitz
(My mother and Moshe share first cousins; Zalman , Lea and Gershon the children
of Natan Gurevitz , my mothers' uncle and Batia Moshes' aunt)
Moshe had sisters and brothers who were much older then him from the marriage
of his father with his first wife from the Alperovitz family: Moshe loved his
sister Henia who was very smart and educated. she perished in the war. His brother
Chaim married a girl from Dolhinov from the Dokshitzi family they had one daughter.
Motel Dokshitzi, Chaims' brother in law was in the Kanhanina camp during the
war. the family arranged for him an escape to kurenitz but he was found and
killed. Chaim is the only one who survived. After the war he came to California
and had a son with his second wife.
Moshe also had two much older sisters; Ashka and Bushka. Bushka was very clever.
She was the unofficial matchmaker of Kurenets. Also people would come to her
for advice.
Moshe remembers that at one time a young Jewish woman came with her father to
Bushka and told her that she was molested by a Christian man and now she is
pregnant. bushka arranged an abortion for her.
Bushka was married to Meir Shkolnik. Meir was the brother of the mother of Motik,
Elik and Avraham alperovitz. motik and Elik joined the partisans and Elik was
killed while defending the partisans camp in the spring of 1942. Motik , Abraham
their mother and father (Reuven- Zishka Alperovitz) were able to escape to the
forest and were amongst the first group of Kurenetzers who crossed to the partisans
controlled area.
Motik died while fighting the Germans in 1944. The rest of reuven-Zishka Alperovitz
family perished with Meir Shkolnik. Ashka and bushka survived and lived in the
U.S
You could find a beautiful picture of Motik, Elik and Abraham Alperovitz with
Shimon Zimerman;
http://eilatgordinlevitan.com/kurenets/k_pix/scenes_old/112901_kos_b.gif
i will write more about Moshe and his family later.picture
of Motik, Elik and Abraham Alperovitz with Shimon Zimerman click

I called SIMON CHEVLIN in New Jersey.
Simon was born in Dolhinov in 1930, the third child to his parents. Simons'
mother was from the katz family (her mother was Briena Katz who was known as
the "Grandma of the partisans")
Simon and his family were hiding with the Belorussian family of Haranin who
lived in the woods near Dolhinov during the three acts of the ANNIHILATION of
the Jews of dolhinov. In the summer of 1942 they left their hiding place and
joined other survivors from Dolhinov who (with the help of some partisans) were
going to walk hundreds of kilometers in enemy territory to cross the front line
to Russia.
A month passed and they were in the vicinity of Pleshntziz when the German surrounded
them and starter shooting. Simon's grandmother; Breina Katz, was badly wounded,
the rest of the family was able to escape with many other Jews.
The next day a group of Russian partisans found the badly wounded 74 years old
Breina Katz. The leader of the partisans; Gregory Stephanos of Siberia ordered
the troop the bring Breina with them to the camp. one of the partisans said
"what do you need an old wounded "Yide" for?" Gregory Stephanos said; "for such
disrespect you will carry her on your back all the way to our camp. Breina survived
and was with the partisan troop for the entire war, She would clean and cook
for them and was known as "Our Grandmother". On July 3 1944 Breina Katz riding
a horse at head of her partisan troops was the very first person to enter liberated
Dolhinov. Breina Katz died years later in Kibbutz dafna , Israel she lived there
with her children , grandchildren and greatgrandchildren.
Back to 1942- the group from Dolhinov was able to reach the front with Russia-
the were divided to smaller groups Simon with his sister Shifra and his youngst
brother were amongst the first group. They were shot at and some of their group
was killed - but they survived and were taken deep into Russia. Their older
borther was with the second group. they crossed into Russia safely but when
they arrived into Russia the brother was mistakenly told that the entire family
was killed. He joined the red army and was killed in action.
when the family heard in 1944 that Dolhinov was liberated they sent a letter
to the Haranin family and found out that Breina survived. Teenage Simon immediately
left Siberia for Dolhinov to see is beloved grandmother and to look for his
oldest brother.
In 1990 Simon went to Belarus and found the daughters of the Haranin family
who saved his life. Since then he goes to the area about every six weeks for
a week. He opened a branch of his business in Molodechno (he stays with the
sisters Haranin)
on Most visits to the area Simon also goes to the Dolhinow cemetery and cleans
the graves and he put the fallen grave stones all up with his on hands. (once
he was even yelled at by a jewish woman for disrespect for the dead by putting
up the fallen grave stones, The Jewish woman , a native of Dolhinov, came to
visit the graves with her family from Oshmieni)
Simons info; MONROE TWP, NJ (305)725-2899
JACK CHEVLIN FOR SIMON CHEVLIN jackjc1931

The guest book you signed is for a shtetl; Kurenets in today Belarus.
in a Ellis Island manifest I found that a family from the shtetl - the Lurie
family, went to a cousin; Salaman Wiminiez, 58 Montegomry St. New York;

http://www.ellisisland.org/EIFile/popup_weif_5a.asp?src=%2Fcgi%2Dbin%2Ftif2gif%2Eexe%3FT%3DG%3A%5C%5CT715%2D0490%5C%5CT715%2D04900503%2ETIF%26S%3D%2E5&pID=104113080205&name=Chaim%26nbsp%3BWiminiz&doa=September+02%2C+1904&port=Liverpool&line=0019click
for the original manidest
-

Does anyone know how (or if) the
Alperowitz family was related to the Wimenitz family? Someone put a reference
to the Ellis Island manifest in the guest book. My grandmother was Wimenitz,
and I have been researching the name. Leslie Moser Hilmis@aol.com
Leslie Moser Hilmis@aol.com
Hillsdale, NJ USA -

Avi Norman mailto:avinor@yahoo.com
wrote;
The name of my grandmother before marriage (who off course I never knew) was
Rachel (Reshke) Alperovitch and she was from Kurenitz, daughter of Meir Aharon
Alperovitch.
I'm the son of Tuvya Norman the son of Rachel & Zusya Norman of Vileyka.
Both my Father Tuvya Norman and his brother Reuben Norman were exited to hear
about this Vileyka site.
Reuben Norman that appears in the picture you mentioned, is my fathers cousin.
My father thinks that he wears Polish Army cavaliers
uniforms. By the way, his sister Zila Navon (Norman) is still leaving in Kfar-Sirkin
Israel. She is about 90 yrs old now.
My uncle name is also Reuben Norman.

Yosef Norman of Haifa was a close friend of my dad. According to my dad,Yosef
passed away a couple of years ago.

.
Israel -

From: JSelig3460
To: EilatGordn

Young Kivitzer Benev Assn 1964-76 Pt I
Ledger Book with minutes in English and separate pages for dues payments of
individuals with home addresses, name changes, date of death, etc. The great
majority of burials take place at Montefiore.

This completes my research. Yet to come is a prologue and the names offered
by the Krivitzers who are currently maintaining their landsmanshaften organization.
Erster Krzywcza An San Benevolent Society 1946-66

In a ledgerbook with minutes in Yiddish there appears a list of membership names
in English which stops half way through the alphabet. The remaining names were
gleaned from the minutes which included notices of death and some membership
names which I transliterated from the YiddishMore will follow from the Young
Krivitzer Benevolent Society. Also please note that the place name is written
in the Polish style. [What does An San mean?].This is not a prologue.

I would like to thank Edward Anders
for the very important book he sent me about
JEWS IN LIEPAJA/LATVIA, 1941-45
A DATABASE OF VICTIMS AND SURVIVORS

Edward Anders (originally Alperovitch) was born in Liepaja in 1926. His father
Adolf was a grain exporter and his grandfather Israel (born in Kurenets d. 1934)
was gabbai of the main synagogue. Edward and his mother Erika (b. Sheftelovich-Levental)
survived the Holocaust by falsely claiming that she was an Aryan foundling raised
by Jewish parents, but his father and 24 other relatives perished. Erika and
Edward got to Germany in 1944 and emigrated to the US in 1949. From 1955 to
1991 Edward was Professor of Chemistry at the University of Chicago, where he
did research on meteorites and lunar rocks (http://www.biograph.comstar.ru/bank/anders.htm).
After his retirement he urged a survivors organization to recover the
names of Liepaja Holocaust victims from archives in Riga, but when the organization
showed no interest, he organized and financed the project himself.
About 7100 Jews lived in Liepaja, Latvia on 14 June 1941. (Our database contains
about 6700 of them). Some 200 were deported to the USSR that day, a few hundred
fled to the USSR after Germany attacked the USSR on 22 June 1941, and most of
the remaining ones were killed during the German occupation that began on 29
June 1941. Most men were shot during the summer and fall; at first near the
lighthouse, then on the Naval Base, and finally in the dunes of Shkede north
of town. Women and children were largely spared until the big Aktion of 14-17
December, 1941, when 2749 Jews were shot. (Pictures of the shootings, taken
by the Security Police and secretly copied by survivor David Zivcon, can be
seen at http://motlc.wiesenthal.com/albums/palbum/p02/a0111p2.html). Killings
continued in early 1942, and by the time the ghetto was established on 1 July
1942, only 832 Jews were left.

The ghetto was closed on 8 October 1943, when the survivors were taken to Riga.
Young adults were generally spared, but in the next few months older people
and women with children were killed locally or in Auschwitz. When the Red Army
approached Riga in the summer of 1944, the survivors were sent to the Stutthof
concentration camp near Danzig in several transports, from August to October
1944. Many died in the increasingly brutal conditions of this camp, especially
on death marches in early 1945, and fewer than 200 survived. Of the deportees
and refugees to the USSR, many perished, but some 300 survived.

For a detailed historical account of the Holocaust in Liepaja, see the following
excerpt http://www.ej-anders.com/EZERG.PDF from Ch. 9 of Andrew Ezergailis,
The Holocaust in Latvia, 1941-44. To view this document, you will need the Adobe
Acrobat Reader, which is available at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readermain.html
as a free download. An excellent book on 20th century Jewish life in Latvia
is Latvians and Jews between Germany and Russia by the journalist Frank Gordon,
now living in Tel Aviv. It is available as a free download at http://vip.latnet.lv/LPRA/frank_gordon.htm
Families who originated in Kurenets:

I would like to thank Yehuda Cheres
for sharing the letters he received from Shimon Peres, Ariel Sharon and others,
thanking him for the book that he wrote about his childhood in Kurenets and
his hiding with his family and many other Jewish
families from Kurenets for more then two years in the forests of Belarus and
losing his mother who refused to tell the Germans where the Jews are hiding.
I will post the letters soon.click
for a letter for Yehuda Cheres from the Ambassador of Belarue in Israel
-

Rubim/ Katz/ Kazovitz of Dolhinov
and the area family tree;Descendants of Rueven Laib Rubin
Generation No. 1

My family of New Haven Aldermans appear to be from Kurenets, but query:
are the Kurnetskys they married also from the same town? At least one death
certificate -- for my great grandmother Stira -- says she was born in Kurenets,
and that her maiden name was Kurnitsky
A majority (about 65%) of Jewish family names are derived from actual place
names throughout the diaspora and in Israel. The reason for this are
numerous: Jews assumed names to record their place of birth and origins; in
memory of a certain town though which they passed on their migrations which
had some meaning for the family, or to honour a town of which they had heard
(particularly from Erez Israel)
MARIS COHEN , New Haven wrote in the 1950's about Kurenets. . ............In
the old shtetl, we were not used to last names. It was unnecessary. There,we
called each other by the name of the father, mother, grandfather, or
grandmother, or their vocation or craft.

We knew each other as laibe mashe's, Yehuda Zushe's, the Yechiel Kalman the

Shlomo Sheyna Feigas'. If you just said Sara Reyzel Dvoras' , people would

not know the one you are refering to.

In our town, no one knew last names nevertheless, the generation ties never

ended and no one was ever lost.....

Marris should have added that when people moved to Kurenets from another
shtetl or when kurenitzers moved to another shtetl, they would be named for
the original shtetl. When they had to chose a last name (c1820's ) they took
that name.
Eli Zimmerman (a Kurenitz native who moved to New Haven) writes....
There were little fishing towns like Zaneritz in the Kurenitz area. There was
plenty of fish to eat in Zaneritz but not much else. And there was trouble
even in selling fish. Ask the Horwitz or the Zanrotsky (from Zaneritz)
families. ....(the Horwitz family is realted to me)
Eli wrote about others from Kurenets Prominent attorney, Alexander Winik, was
born there about that time. But soon we moved in with Leib Dimenstein, the
father of Sam Dimenstien, and his family. It sounds like a lot of moving but
actually it was done within the same group of tenements on the same street.
As a matter of fact, Shamos Mordche Alderman (first cousin of Richard Aldermans
grandfather)
was another neighbor. Only later when my mother cam from Europe in 1909 with
my two brothers and sister did we get a place of our own on Lafayette Street.

.
-

MOLODECHNO (the nearest city to kurenets)
Jewish Religious Community " Hevra Tegilim" Head of the community:
Gennady BASKIN Total number of Jews: 1,000 . The community was formed in September
1998, registered in March 1999. Activities:"Kabbalat Shabbat". There
is 1 synagogue.
http://eejhp.tripod.ca/map.htm#writeclick here to write to the community.
-

Perhaps this will be of help. I have notes from October 3, 1987, but unfortunately
I do not have the source.. kae

Heilbron
(Halperin, Hallbronn, Alperin, Halper, Helper, Alpron, Galperin, etc.)
These names are all derived from the city of Heilbronn in Wurttemberg, Germany,
where Jews have lived since the early 13th century. (The name "Halperin" can
be first found in the Middle Ages.)

The principal German variants of Heilbron are Heilpron, Heilprin, Heilpern,
Heilpron, Hellbon, Helper, Halbron, Halperin, Halpern, Halpersohn, Halpert,
Holper, Alpern, Elperin, and Elpern. Russian forms include Galpern and Golpern,
and there is an Italian variant Alpruni.

A majority (about 65%) of Jewish family names are derived from actual place
names throughout the diaspora and in Israel. The reason for this are numerous:
Jews assumed names to record their place of birth and origins; in memory of
a certain town though which they passed on their migrations which had some meaning
for the family, or to honour a town of which they had heard (particularly from
Erez Israel). Sometimes place names became widespread through the copying of
a name which had been made famous by a certain family, or which had been adopted
by a Hassidic dynasty. However, many Jewish names which were originally called
after a place name have become so distorted and changed that unless the family
kept records, the roots of the name can no longer be traced."
I created a page for Vilejka with many pictures from the Yizkor book;
http://eilatgordinlevitan.com/vileyka/vileyka.html
Please Help! look at the page and let other from Vileyka know about it. please
sign the Vileyka (or Kurenets) guest book with your name and email address.

I would like to create shtetl pages
for Krasne and Ilia - any help would be welcomed. Daniel Scaliter of Argentina
dscaliter@tutopia.com will help with the krasne page ( he has many pictures
of the Monin family from Krasne) Also Jason Alpert will help with his family
tree of the Alperovitz, Gelperyn, Halperin of Krasnoje N/usza and also with
"huge" amount of information that he collected.

.Eilat
-

I called Jason Alpert in new York.
Jasons' father was first cousin of the sisters; Ema nee Alperovitz Zivoni, Helna
nee Alperovitz Alperowitz, Rachael nee Alperovitz Alperovitz (both married Alperovitzes),?
nee Alperovitz Gordon (mother of Riva, the wife of Shimon Zimmerman) and Dora
nee Alperovitz Rubinstein or Rabinovitz who died in New York. They also had
a brother Eliyahu who perished in Kurenets.
Jason told me that the family has a cousin; Raquel List (She is from the Levin/
Wouk side) She is married to leopold List and they live in Argentina. They also
have a cousin Zohara Nahari who lives in Haifa.
.
USA -

Report by Kube on the Extermination
of Jews and the Fight Against the Partisans in Byelorussia
http://212.143.122.31/about_holocaust/documents/part3/doc187.html

Minsk, July 31, 1942

The Generalkommissar for Byelorussia

Gauleiter /G 507/42 g

To

Reichskommissar for Ostland

Gauleiter Hinrich Lohse

Riga

Secret

Re: Combating Partisans and Aktion against Jews

in the Generalbezirk of Byelorussia

In all the clashes with the partisans in Byelorussia it has proved that Jewry,
both in the formerly Polish, as well as in the formerly Soviet parts of the
District General, is the main bearer of the partisan movement, together with
the Polish resistance movement in the East and the Red Army from Moscow. In
consequence, the treatment of Jewry in Byelorussia is a matter of political
importance owing to the danger to the entire economy. It must therefore be solved
in accordance with political considerations and not merely economic needs. Following
exhaustive discussions with the SS Brigadefuehrer Zenner and the exceedingly
capable Leader of the SD, SS Obersturmbannfuehrer Dr. jur. Strauch, we have
liquidated about 55,000 Jews in Byelorussia in the past 10 weeks. In the area
of Minsk county Jewry has been completely eliminated without any danger to the
manpower requirements. In the predominantly Polish area of Lida, 16,000 Jews
were liquidated, in Slonim, 8,000, etc.

Owing to encroachment by the Army Rear Zone (Command), which has already been
reported, there was interference with the preparations we had made for the liquidation
of the Jews in Glebokie. Without contacting me, the Army Rear Zone Command liquidated
10,000 Jews, whose systematic elimination had in any case been planned by us.
In the city of Minsk about 10,000 Jews were liquidated on July 28 and 29. Of
these 6,500 were Russian Jews mainly old men, women and children and the rest
Jews incapable of work, who were sent to Minsk in November of last year by order
of the Fuehrer, mainly from Vienna, Bruenn, Bremen and Berlin.

The District of Sluzk has also been relieved of several thousand Jews. The same
applies to Nowogrodek and Wilejka. Radical measures are planned for Baranowitschi
and Hanzewitschi. In Baranowitschi there are still another 10,000 Jews in the
city itself, of whom 9,000 will be liquidated next month.

In the city of Minsk about 2,600 Jews from Germany have remained. In addition
all of the 6,000 Russian Jews and Jewesses remained alive who were employed
during the Aktion by various units [of the Wehrmacht]. In future, too, Minsk
will remain the largest Jewish element owing to the concentration of armament
industries in the area and as the requirements of the railroad make this necessary
for the time being. In all other areas the number of Jews used for work will
be reduced by the SD and myself to a maximum of 800, and, if possible, 500,
so that when the remaining planned Aktionen have been completed there will be
8,600 in Minsk and about 7,000 Jews in the 10 other districts, including the
Jew-free Minsk District. There will then be no further danger that the partisans
can still rely to any real extent on Jewry. Naturally I and the SD would like
it best if Jewry in the Generalbezirk of Byelorussia was finally eliminated
after their labor is no longer required by the Wehrmacht. For the time being
the essential requirements of the Wehrmacht, the main employer of Jewry, are
being taken into consideration.

In addition to this unambiguous attitude towards Jewry, the SD in Byelorussia
also has the onerous task of continually transferring new transports of Jews
from the Reich to their destination. This causes excessive strain on the physical
and spiritual capacities of the personnel of the SD, and withdraws them from
duties within the area of Byelorussia itself.

I should therefore be grateful if the Reichskommissar could see his way to stopping
further deportations of Jews to Minsk at least until the danger from the partisans
has been finally overcome. I need 100 percent of the SD manpower against the
Partisans and the Polish Resistance Movement, which together occupy the entire
strength of the not overwhelmingly strong SD units.

After completion of the Aktion against the Jews in Minsk, SS Obersturmbannfuehrer
Dr. Strauch reported to me this night, with justified indignation, that suddenly,
without instructions from the Reichsfuehrer, and without notification to the
Generalkommissar, a transport of 1,000 Jews from Warsaw has arrived for the
local Luftwaffe Command.

I beg the Reichskommissar (already warned by telegram) to prevent the dispatch
of such transports, in his capacity as supreme authority in Ostland. The Polish
Jew, exactly like the Russian Jew, is an enemy of the German nation. He represents
a politically dangerous element, a danger which far exceeds his value as a skilled
worker. Under no circumstances should the army or the Luftwaffe import Jews
into an area under civil administration, either from the Government-General
or from elsewhere, without the approval of the Reichskommissar, as this endangers
the entire political task here and the security of the Generalbezirk. I am in
full agreement with the Commander of the SD in Byelorussia that we should liquidate
every transport of Jews not arranged, or announced to us, by our superior officers,
to prevent further disturbances in Byelorussia.

Dear Daniel,
Look at http://www.monin.com.au/history.html
"...The success of Monin is a family achievement. In 1912, Georges Monin founded
his company in the heart of France to create 100% natural syrups. His son Paul
continued in the same spirit and initiated its development to the international
market. Today Olivier, third generation, perpetuates the family tradition while
moving towards the third millennium where innovation and the internationalization
are paramount"...
They must be your relatives! was he born in France? I know
that some families who came to the Vilna area c 1820- were the Jews who were
expelled from Spain to France - some family members left east some lived in
France and practiced the Jewish traditions in secrete. maybe Soda making was
another Monin family screte!!!

MONIN - SINCE 1912!

In 1912, Georges Monin decided to set up as a liquor and syrup manufacturer
in historic Bourges, once the capital of France. From the very beginning, he
devoted his products exclusively to the professionals of the bar trade, restaurants,
and gourmet retailers who were moved by his determination for outstanding quality
which distinguished Monin from the standard brands. His slogan La Passion de
la Qualité ("Passion for Quality") became the Monin motto.

By the 1930s, Monin had become one of the leading fruit syrup brands on the
domestic market. The company started to expand overseas; Morocco, Malta, Tunisia,
the Caribbean Islands and West Africa, where the tropical fruit used in Monin
syrups came from.

Three generations later, Monin is the world leader in the manufacturing and
marketing of premium syrups, liqueurs, aperitifs, non-alcoholic cocktails and
ice tea concentrates.

It is now acclaimed in over 85 countries worldwide, in Eastern and Western Europe,
Russia, China, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, Turkey, Africa and throughout North
and South America. Monin-USA started in 1993, and three years later the production
facility was opened in 1996 in Clearwater, Florida. It is here that all product
is produced for supplying the Western Hemisphere. The raw materials come from
France where they are naturally extracted. They are blended and bottled in Clearwater
to yield the same high quality achieved in France for three generations.

In 1993 Monin was appointed Member of the prestigious International Bartenders
Association (I.B.A.). Monin is the only brand of syrups to appear side by side
with world-famous trade names in drinks and beverages.

In 1994 Monin was awarded the Grand Prize of European Excellence for perfection
in production. In addition, in 1993 Monin participated in the International
Cocktail Competition in Vienna, receiving several awards and reconfirmed its
reputation for excellence by winning three gold medals during the 1996 International
Cocktail Competition in Tokyo. Monin was used in the winning recipes of three
official I.B.A. cocktails.

Today, Monin is the worlds largest and best-known producer of premium
flavorings for beverage and culinary applications. With over 60 natural flavors,
Monin provides the elements to serve creative, great tasting offerings for the
on-premise operator. Recipes, point of sale merchandising materials and customized
drink development are all available to help translate Monin flavors into profitable
sales and satisfied guests.

Months ago I had mail to you and Laura Miner, because i found that she talk
about a MONIN from Minsk who were in the 'soda bussines'. I had look this
month a little bit more about the shtetl of Krasne from where my grandfather
Akiva MONIN. Now i find that your site www.eitalgordinlevitan.com and your
guestbook are the more similar groups to my own genealogical interest on my
MONIN family. When I read before the place named 'Wileika' it don't tell me
nothing. Now looking detailed maps i found that's one of the nearest
locations to Krasne (Krasnoe, Krasnoye) are the towns Wileika and
Molodechno. Well I need so much information but I feel that I found a right
way.

I would like to receive more information from Laura Miner about the MONINS
in the soda bussines.

This is the basic information about my lost family from Krasne.

Aron MONIN (born about 1870, he is in Ellis Island Database as 'Aron
Monsin') married to ???????
They had one daughter Sheine MONIN who establish in the U.S. in 1913 (also
in EIDB as Scheiwe MONIN; she went before to U.S. in 1906 with Elke MONIN, I
think an aunt of her, this manifest is missing I had receive a copy)
Aron MONIN is on 1929 Polish Bussines directory on page 2083, first row, up;
accesible as PDf on JRI-PL JewishGen. There are two other MONINS on this
directory: Judel and Itko: Aron's brothers? Aron a 'sklep' store (drinks and
soda) in Krasne and i have photos of he in the store.
Aron MONIN is mentioned up to three times on Chayesh's work "On the front
line in Lithuania:1915" about German-Russian War.

Aron lost his first spouse and married Basha ZAGALOVITCH
They had three children:
- Tame MONIN
- Akiva MONIN (my grandfather), born about 1903 in Krasne, Molodechno. (I
think they had 'adjust' his birthdate to can left Europe before serving in
the army and the right birth year is 1905...) He went to Argentina in 1922.
- Yankel (Yakob) MONIN. Yankel was the first to die hanged with a rope. He's
is in the last photo received by my father 1n 1939...

I'm begining to research for Holocaust records about MONIN and how knows
about survivors...
I have some Yiddish letters writed to my grandfather from his Krasne family
about 1930 and around thirty photos with 'yiddish writed backs' to translate
i hope this open new windows on my research.

I would like to keep in touch with you. Respetuosly,

Daniel Scaliter.
Buenos Aires, Argentina.

PD: I send a copy of this mail to Mr Marc Monene who is researching for the
surname MONIN in Wileika, his mail address is: rifleman@alum.mit.edu
.
-

ON THE FRONT LINE IN LITHUANIA, 1915:
STORIES OF JEWISH EYEWITNESSES
by Anatolii Chayesh http://www.jewishgen.org/litvak/1915fline.htm
The Town of Krasnoe, District of Vilieka 42

From August 1915, our troops began to pass through Krasnoe, behaving themselves
peacefully toward to inhabitants. However, starting with the battles near Molodechno,
Cossacks appeared in Krasnoe. On September 4 they began to rob Jewish shops:
they plundered the colony store of Shlioma Movsha Brudner, robbed and destroyed
the property of the rich merchant Iona, the flour shop of Iosel Gordon, and
others. Some of the local residents helped the Cossacks, and the latter gave
them part of the loot. They handed 700 pounds from the steam mill of Getsel
Bik. Aron Monin saw them rob the crypt of Rakhila Gordon and pointed out four
of the robbers to the commandant of the town and to constable Bokhan.

In fear of the pogrom, Jews left town, some of the Christians also left, frightened
by the expected battle. Then Christians from neighboring villages (Rekuvshchizna,
Osovtsy, Ulianovshchina) came to Krasnoe and, taking advantage of the absence
of the owners, broke open one cellar after another and plundered the goods stored
in them. A certain Adam Mankovsky went around town and noted who the robbers
were. Two residents of Krasnoe, Aron Monin and Movsha Brudner, hid in the house
of the nobleman, Stanislav Targonsky.

On September 7th or 8th, peasants told the Cossacks that German spies were hidden
in Targonskys place. Cossacks went to Targonskys, but he explained
that he had neighbors as guests, and they went away. At that time, the lame
Varfolomei Bogachevsky said that Monin and Brudner were hiding Germans, and
that at all costs they should be gotten rid off.

The robbing went on for several days. During the night of September 14, the
plenipotentiary of the Society of Artisan Labor, Slonim, passed through. There
were no residents in the town. Captured Germans were put in the synagogue. The
Torah scrolls were torn and cut, and Cossacks rolled their own cigarettes out
of pages of the Talmud

I have been trying to find relatives that survieved the war. What do you know?
My grandfather'sname was Bernard and he was a blacksmith in a small Polish town
called "Vilaka" . I don't know the spelling

Do you know where in Lithuania your great-grandfather Moishe Alpert emigrated
from? My grandfather Joseph Alpert emigrated from Vilnius, Lithuania to New
York around 1910.

He left behind him his father, Avram Adel Alperovitz, his mother and his five
sisters. The sisters eventually emigrated to various countries, including France,
Israel and the U.S.
Posted by: Amram Eshel Date: July 20, 2001 at 02:48:16
In Reply to: Avram Adel Alperovitz 1875 Belarus by Deborah Alpert Sleight of
23

Debby,

1.
Smorgon, Belarus is 62 miles northwest of Minsk, halfway between Minsk and Vilnius.

2.
www.jewishgen.org/jgff gives addresses of researches who are looking for (and
hopefully have info on) specific surnames and families:

Thank you so much for the researcher's name. I will contact her immediately.

How do you know where Smorgon is? Have you been there? I would love to visit
sometime. It would be very cool if I could find relatives to visit.
Posted by: Bunny Alpert Garnick Date: July 16, 2001 at 07:38:26
In Reply to: Avram Adel Alperovitz 1875 Belarus by Deborah Alpert Sleight of
23

Did they settle in New England? We ahd a branch of the family that settled there.
My Uncle Joseph knew them but they had a family fight and never spoke again..
People can do stupid things.
Posted by: Debby Sleight Date: July 19, 2001 at 12:01:54
In Reply to: Re: Avram Adel Alperovitz 1875 Belarus by Bunny Alpert Garnick
of 23

Let's see. My father was born in Peabody, Mass., and I seem to recall he had
relatives in Nashua, NH, but I will have to check on this. It may be that the
Nashua relatives were on his mother's side (Katz).

My grandfather Leon Alpert and grandmother Hilda Augusta Kawalski Alpert emigrated
from Minsk, Belarus about 1893 to Savannah, Ga. This is the first time I have
seen the variations in the name Alpert. Where did your family emigrate to? Would
love to hear from you. I, too, am so excited to find this site as I know so
little about my grandparents. Hope to hear from you! Rose
Posted by: Bunny Alpert Garnick Date: July 16, 2001 at 07:41:49
In Reply to: Re: Avram Adel Alperovitz 1875 Belarus by Rose Walley Marks of
23

Part of the family went to central NY state and part to NYC. My husband and
I lived for many years (27) in Augusta Ga. Where are you living now?
Posted by: Deborah Alpert Sleight Date: July 10, 2001 at 08:58:56
In Reply to: Re: Avram Adel Alperovitz 1875 Belarus by Rose Walley Marks of
23

Hi, Rose. Thanks for the reply. My grandfather, Joseph Alpert, emigrated to
the U.S. around 1910 from Vilna. He did not go through Ellis Island, but somewhere
else (I don't know where yet). He lived for a few years in Peabody, MA, where
my father was born. They then moved to NYC, to Manhattan, where my father and
his three sisters grew up.

Do you know much about your Alperts in Minsk? Were they named Alpert?

From what I understand, the name Alpert derives from the Bavarian city of Heilbronn.
Variations include Halprin, Helprin, Galprin, Galparin, Alperin, Alperovitz,
and so on.
Posted by: Bunny Alpert Garnick Date: July 16, 2001 at 07:47:57
In Reply to: Re: Avram Adel Alperovitz 1875 Belarus by Deborah Alpert Sleight
of 23

I was taught that they family originated from Portugal and that the name was
originally Alporto meaning open door. They went east during the Inquesition.
Posted by: Debby Sleight Date: July 19, 2001 at 11:58:09
In Reply to: Re: Avram Adel Alperovitz 1875 Belarus by Bunny Alpert Garnick
of 23

Very interesting. I'll have to find the book wherein I found the Heilbronn origin.
Of course, I don't think there was any documentation of that origin in the book.

I don't suppose your family has any documentation of the Alporto origin, other
than family legend? That was one I had never heard. Of course, there could be
more than one origin, and the name happened to be changed to the same spelling.

Get a book called the either _"_The Grandees orThe Grandes I can't remember
the exact tittle. I believe the book came out 20 to 30 years ago. It is about
the Jews after thre Inquisition The name ia in that book. I am sorry but that
is all the help I can be.

http://www.ellisisland.org/EIFile/popup_weif_5a.asp?src=%2Fcgi%2Dbin%2Ftif2gif%2Eexe%3FT%3DG%3A%5C%5CT715%2D1186%5C%5CT715%2D11860024%2ETIF%26S%3D%2E5&pID=101505150229&name=Schewe%26nbsp%3BBurstein&doa=January+++12%2C+1909&port=Bremen&line=0019
9click
for the original manifest
USA -

I noticed the term "Hebrew Jewje" on this website. Would anyone know what "Jewje"
means? Thank you.
It means a jewish person who came to the U.S from the shtetl of Jewje (Vievis)-
it is taken from the ellisisland list of passangers who came to the U.S c 1885-
1924.
.
-

I am trying to research my EKMAN family from Dolginovo and Ilya, Belarus
from the 1800's and 1900's. However, I keep on running into a brick wall.

Has anyone had any luck with these towns or know if documents even exist?
I would be willing to hire a reseacher and would love to get any feedback
from others who have done so for these towns as well.

Thanks very much,

Michael Trapunsky
Queens, New York
trapunsky@earthlink.net

Dear Michael Trapunsky:
Some Ilya records do exist in the Vilna archives for the Vileika distrcit, of
which Ilya is part. There may also be records in Minsk. I will forward more
details to you as soon as time permits. I would be very interested in a cooperative
project, and can give you some additional researchers names if you are willing
to play an organizing role. I have a fair amount of material, including the
Ilya yizkor book, but very little time.
--Steve Rosen, bethesda, maryland
researching DINNERSTEIN in Ilya, Belarus

I would guess that you found this reference on Ancestry.com. Is this
correct?

If so, then this reference is likely for a naturalization record from
the New York County Supreme Court, and copies of these records are
_only_ available from the New York County (i.e. Manhattan) Clerk's
Office, Division of Old Records. The US National Archives does not
have copies of these records.

You can order a copy of the above naturalization document by writing to
the New York County Clerk's Office, Division of Old Records, at

New York County Clerk, Room 103B
60 Centre St.
New York, NY 10007-1402

(I'm not sure of the cost of these records, but it is probably pretty
nominal, perhaps $10).

The US Naturalization Petition documents usually contains a wealth of
information, including birthplace and date, and names of spouse and
children, if there are any.

One can also get a copy of the document in person by visiting the
Division of Old Records office in New York located in Room 703 (7th
floor) on 31 Chambers St (near corner of Centre St). Their normal
operating hours are Tues. and Thurs. from 9am-5pm or M, W, F by
appointment only. The office is always closed on Sat., Sun., and all
holidays. For details, call during these hours at (212) 374-4376 or
(212) 374-4781.

(By the way, I'm not sure how this office's operations were affected by
the Sept. 11 terrorist attack in New York, since I recall that they are
located pretty close to the World Trade Center.)

One could also pursue looking for Meyer Kantor in the New York Census
for 1910, and 1920, or in the NY City Directories. The Census can be
found in the New York National Archives Regional Center, and the City
Directories can be found in the NY Public Library. Again, this search
will be more difficult due to the common nature of Meyer Kanbtor's
name.

As for the South African search, there is also much that can be done.
If you know more details of the names, and where (and when) the family
lived in South Africa, I could suggest some more specific areas to
pursue. Let me know.

If you are interested in looking at more general information on
researching in South Africa, take a look at:

http://www.jewishgen.org/safrica

Well, I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions,
or need any clarification on the above information. I'll be more than
glad to help.

Dear Eilat,
I've been looking at the photos on your Kurenets web site and noticed a photo
about a performing music and dance troupe called Hoopsa Smikum on the Partisans
page. Can you point me to other information about the activities of this group?
I'm always interested in learning more about the role of music and dance in
the lives of Jews in Eastern Europe. Was the troupe composed of both Jews and
non-Jews?
Sincerely,

Helen Winkler
winklerh@hotmail.com
Helen's Yiddish Dance Page
http://www.angelfire.com/ns/helenwinkler
Calgary Folkdance Fridays
http://www.cadvision.com/winklerj/cff.html
--------------
Dear Helen,
the troupe was composed of Jews (And others) who were hiding in the forests
of Belarus during the holocaust. Their Job was to entertain the underground
resistance troupes who were fighting the Germans!!!!

I took the picture from a book about the Jewish resistance (in Hebrew) Chana
nee Pozner wrote her amazing story of survival so did Yechiel Borgin. you could
most likely get in touch with Chana by writing to Shimon Zimmerman
Kfar Harif
Doar Na Shikmim , 79830
Israel
Phone number from Israel; 08 858 2484
Phone number from the U.S.A; 011-972- 8 858- 2484
Zimmerman http://eilatgordinlevitan.com/kurenets/k_pages/stories_zimmerman.html
Shimons story is taken from the same book that Chana and Yechiel wrote their
story. Eilatclick
for Shimons' story.
-

http://www.eilatgordinlevitan.com/kurenets/k_pages/file.html
I would like to thank Shlomo Alperovich for the great pictures he sent me of
kurenets after the war.Shloma and his brother, Abraham were born in kurenets
after the war and were the last Jewish family to live there. Shlomo also sent
pictures from his recent visit to the area. click
here for the pictures
-

What a pleasant surprise! Do you know who did the captions. (Your third cousin,
Edna from Israel

Some corrections.

1. Family name is spelled Wouk.
2. Herman Wouk was in the Navy, not the Army
2. The picture immediately to the right of Herman Wouk the woman on the right
is Joy Wouk, my mother. (Sarah Wouk is Herman's wife and she is not in the photograph.)
The child behind is ME! Jordan Wouk.

Dear EILAT;
Thank you loads for your research. Not only were many of my late mother(LIBA
CEJTEL) relatives on it but some in particular you found for me that I had no
facts where to look as time was not known; they were SZYMKA PEN and husband
DAVID. She was my great aunt! Thanks, HERBERT SCHULMAN, N.C.
.
USA -

we drove to a different part of Belarus
- Molodechno, Vileka and Iliya. This is the northwestern part, close to the
Lithuanian border. After WWI, it was transferred to the new Poland. This area
is connected to the family of my friend, Avraham Chesekov. His relatives from
Minsk volunteered to drive us around for the entire day, so we did not need
our hired driver anymore. In Molodechno, there is an archive of the area, where
one can request a search for one's relatives. They have a list of voters for
the Polish Saim. Although there wasn't much point in requesting a search for
the Tavger family here, I did so anyhow, and after some time, I received an
answer in the negative.
In Vileka there is a Jewish cemetery surrounded by a fence. Some of the older
graves remain. I wrote down all the family names that I could read there. Someone
made some cement fillings for the gravestones in a totally different style (the
gravestones instead of standing were lying). But here too, the hand of vandalism
reached. Here and there vodka bottles were left over from drunken nighttime
parties. At the entrance to the cemetery is a general monument in memory of
those killed in the holocaust. Outside the fenced off area, at the bottom of
the hill and below, are scattered a large number of gravestones. Probably the
cemetery was once much larger. Next to the cemetery was a non-Jewish lady who
was in charge of watching the place; this is what her father did, and this is
what she does. There is someone in Vilna who keeps in touch with her and is
responsible for the care of the cemetery
The lady brought us to a Jewish women, almost the only one in the town, a smart
and intelligent woman. We met her digging in her garden, but this did not keep
her from remembering even the smallest of details, telephone numbers and addresses
of people. My friend Avraham asked her numerous questions about his family,
and as always I asked if she had ever heard of the Tavger family. To my surprise,
she answered in the positive. It became clear that she had known in her youth
(today she is 70 years old)the sisters of Chaim Touger who lives in Herzliya,
in Israel. He and his family did not live in Vileka but in Krivitchi, about
50 kilometers to the northeast. Each time Mrs. Chodos produced a new detail
of information, all those standing around jumped with admiration. This knowledgeable
woman even brought us to an army quarters building whose walls were constructed
of gravestones from the Jewish cemetery. She had found this out by chance when
some of the plaster crumbled from the wall and the Hebrew letters showed through.

Afterwards, we visited at the home of the partisan, Safonov. He had received
from Yad Vashem a certificate for the "Non-Jewish Righteous of the World" for
saving Jews. I must say truthfully that I never met before a non-Jew who saved
Jews, and when I stood next to him, I was deeply moved. When he asked me to
translate for him what was written on the certificate and on the medallion,
I read and translated with tears in my eyes and my voice trembling.

We drove with him to Iliya, about 40 kilometers from Vileka. There we saw a
monument to the martyrs of Iliya with the names of those killed. The monument
was erected through the efforts of someone who was saved by Safonov and now
lives in Israel - his name is Degani. Safonov is responsible for the monument.
Afterwards, we found the cemetery. On the flat, open plain, far from the road,
a sight which appears strange among the surrounding farms is suddenly seen -
many gravestones standing straight. The cemetery is not fenced off, but fortunately
is kept in fairly good condition. Again I copied all the names which I could
read from the gravestones.

We returned Safonov to Vileka. When we parted, I felt I couldn't just say good-bye
simply to a "Non-Jewish Righteous of the World" who had saved Jews. I dared
to hug him with all of my heart and thanked him in the name of all the children
of Israel.

Towards evening we returned to Minsk, and here ended our trip to the land where
our fathers lived. I returned home with my thoughts in turmoil about care for
the neglected cemeteries. It is impossible to leave things in their present
state. What must those villagers, whom I met everywhere, think about us, those
smart Jews, filled with incentive and means!? How have they left their fathers
who are buried in the land they lived in!? I see their houses and their eyes
staring at us, the Jews, and I am filled with shame for my nation. But the burning
enthusiasm I felt then has already managed to be cooled by the pragmatic words
of people who reacted to my ideas. There is a need for a huge monetary investment,
they said, and also a need for organization. Who can undertake all this? And
so I returned in the meantime to the course of everyday life.

.
-

October 2001
Joseph F. Troy the grandson of Yakov Shulman of Kurenets (Yakov was the son
of Zvi Hirsh and Bela Shulman and brother of Arzik der Beyger Shulman) Died
this week.
Joseph F. Troy;
PREPARATORY EDUCATION: Yale University (B.A., 1960).

LEGAL EDUCATION: Harvard Law School (LL.B., 1963).

ADMITTED TO THE BAR: California (1964); District of Columbia (1979).

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS: American Judicature Society, Los Angeles County Bar
Association, State Bar of California, District of Columbia Bar Association,
American Bar Association.

LANGUAGE: French.

EXPERIENCE: Co-founded Troy & Gould 1970.

Mr. Troy specializes in corporate, securities and business law, with emphasis
on venture capital, public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance
and international capital market transactions. He also regularly advises boards
of directors of public companies and he co-authored (with other members of his
firm) a book entitled Advising and Defending Corporate Directors and Officers.
In connection with lectures delivered to the Continuing Education of the Bar,
he has also written a handbook on advising boards of directors on their legal
responsibilities, first published in 1979 and revised and republished in 1994.
He was the creator, as lawyer for the issuer, of the first major asset securitization
transaction involving automobile receivables - the first series of "CARs" (Certificates
of Automobile Receivables), distributed by Salomon Brothers in 1985 and 1986.
As the architect of the IPO of Movie Gallery, Inc., in 1995, he completed one
of the first major roll-ups where the targeted acquisitions were contingent
upon, and paid out of the proceeds of, the public offering.

As past chair of the Business and Corporations Law Section of the Los Angeles
County Bar Association, he participated in the drafting of the California General
Corporations Law. As chair of the California State Bar Business Court Committee
and the Task Force on Complex Litigation from 1991 to 1999, he participated
in the creation of California's new system of Complex Litigation Courts.

Mr. Troy is listed (under the category of corporate law) in The Best Lawyers
in America, a lawyer referral reference that ranks attorneys based on peer review.
In 1997 he received the Marvin Green Award from the Los Angeles County Bar Association's
Business and Corporations Law Section for service to the Los Angeles legal community.

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES: Chairman of the Task Force on Complex Litigation, of
the California State Bar established in 1997 to explore the feasibility of creating
a system of separate business and commercial law courts in California; past
chairman of the Business Court Committee of the California State Bar Business
Law Section (1991-97); chairman of the annual American Electronics Association
Corporate Finance Conference, 1985-98; chairman of the national Lawyers' Committee
of the American Electronics Association, 1983-86; member of the Corporations
Committee of the Business Law Section of the California State Bar,1990-93; member
of the Securitization of Assets subcommittee of the Developments in Business
Financing Committee of the American Bar Association; former chairman and member
of the Executive Committee of the Business and Corporations Law Section of the
Los Angeles County Bar Association; former member of the Corporations Committee
of the State Bar Business Law Section (1990-94).

CIVIC ACTIVITIES: Chairman of The International Festival Society (American Friends
of the Salzburg Festival); recipient of Knight's Cross, First Class, Republic
of Austria; member of the board of directors of UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center
Foundation; member of the board of directors of the Los Angeles Opera; co-founder
and former director, president, and chairman of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra;
member of the board of directors of Movie Gallery, Inc.; former member of the
Los Angeles Committee on Foreign Relations; former Honorary Consul of Tunisia
in Los Angeles; former president and director of the French-American Chamber
of Commerce of Los Angeles; member of the board of governors of the Wine and
Food Society of Southern California, Inc.; member of The California Club; member
of The Beach Club; former member of the board of directors of the Brentwood
Park Property Owners Association; chairman, Harvard Law School Class of 1963
Reunion Gift Fund; member, International Lawyers' Group.

Dear Readers!
On behalf of the Chief Rabbi of Russia, we would like to introduce a new program
which is carried out in Moscow by the Beit-Talchum Community with the support
of the URS (United Russian Synagogue).

Russian Ancestors (http://www.russianancestors.com)
This project is a unique source of historical information, which is aimed specifically
at Russian immigrants who are intrigued about their ancestral roots. Our site
enables the user to create a genealogical tree, to locate a missing relative,
or even to find a grave of an ancestor and improve its condition.

An abundance of information, including former KGB archives is now accessible
to us through our status and connections. We must not miss this wonderful opportunity
to reconstruct our past, which has been concealed by the tyrannical Soviet regime
for so many years.

Please, read the recommendation letter of the Chief Rabbi of Russia: http://www.russianancestors.com/letter.shtml

We kindly ask you to support and assist us in spreading the word about our new
site. If you have a website, we would be grateful if you placed a Russian Ancestor's
web-link on it. Whenever possible, please distribute this announcement. We hope
you will join us in our task of connecting people with their past!

We express a huge gratitude for your assistance in this noble enterprise. We
wait for your responses and counter offers.

The Jewish Genealogical Society,
Inc, is pleased to announce that we have begun phase 3, the proofing of the
database. We now have more than 250,000 names of individuals who were either
naturalized or who filed Declarations of Intention to become naturalized citizens
in State Supreme Court, Kings County, during the years 1907-1924, in the database.
The information for this database was taken from the handwritten indexes located
in the Kings County Clerk's Office. Based upon proofing completed to date, we
estimate the database includes 98% of those who filed with this court. We hope
to pick up the remainder while completing the proofing against the original
records. YOUR HELP IS NEEDED
Kings County (Brooklyn, NY) Naturalization Index
Records Found 9for some last names that were common in Kurenets;

Records Located at:
County Clerk's Office
State Supreme Court, Kings County (Brooklyn)
360 Adams Street, Room 0079 (cross streets: Johnson, Court & Joralemon Sts)
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Please Note!
Due to the increase demand for Naturalization records in the Kings County Clerk's
Office, the wait is aprx. 4-6 months for mail requests. The cost of a Naturalization
record ordered by mail is $10. However, you can visit the Kings County Clerk's
Office, Basement Record Room 079 and copy the record yourself. Currently, there
is no charge for self-service copies. See FAQs for further informationclick for the database

In the Yizkor book for Kurenitz Israel
Gvint wrote reminiscences of his happy childhood in Kurenets. he wrote of the
beautiful twin girls who danced the ballet "Swan lake" and all the boys were
secretly in love with them. He wrote that they left kurenets to join their father
in the U.S.- I found the 14 years old Michla and Menuch Luria on the Ellis Island
Database;

Many Liepaja Jewish families and their friends were totally wiped out in the
Holocaust, leaving nobody to remember their names. Thus, of the 6000+ Liepaja
Jews who perished in WWII, only about 1500 are recorded at Yad Vashem. Such
oblivion would have pleased Hitler.

We have therefore spent 2 years searching for the names, and are now reporting
them on this web site. A memorial book will be published in early 2001 and will
be sent at no charge to all Liepaja Jews whose addresses we know.
http://www.ej-anders.com/index.htm
some Jews that originated in Kurenets;
Name Vulfs Alperovichs [1], 2777
Birth 25 7 1877, Kurenec
AddressOld Barenu 13
Address1941 7 4 1941, Darza 7-1
Occupation Gramatvedis
other Alperovichs;
Adolfs
Edvards
Erika
Georgs
Hena
Keile
KastrelisLeibs-Jehuda Kastrelis
(1872 Kurenets- 1941)

You could find a picture that was
given to me by Edna nee Zivony Litvak. The picture is of a meeting that took
place fifty years ago in her house in Tel Aviv, when natives of Kurenitz came
to greet her aunt; Helena- Yente Alperovitz, who came for a visit from Argentina;
http://eilatgordinlevitan.com/kurenets/k_pix/israel/70401_11_b.gif
YOSSI (Alperowitz) OPHIR took a picture during the memorial for the Jews who
perished in Kurenitz 59 years ago;
http://eilatgordinlevitan.com/kurenets/k_pix/israel/91801_7_b.gif
Please let me know if you recognize any of the people. Eilat. eilatgordn@aol.com
click
for the picture from 1950.
-

Yes, I do work in the Pentagon, but I was in Cairo when this happened.

I am alive and well, though I must tell you all that seeing the damage at the
Pentagon in person is much worse than watching it on TV.

It's incredulous!

Shana Tova u-meborekhet. And G-d willing, this year will be much better
than the last.

Harold Rhode
Support the work of the Belarus SIG and JewishGen by
clicking on http://www.jewishgen.org/JewishGen-erosity/belarus.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
***Encyclopedia of Jewish Life now available***
.

.
USA -

N AUG. 2001 I VISITED KURENETS WITH
MY WIFE SHULAMIT . IT WAS A MOST MEMORABLE VISIT.
I MET WITH YERACHMIEL DORI SON OF YAKOV DORI THE FIRST "RAMATKAL". (CHIEF OF
THE ARMY) HIS MOTHER -BADANA NEE PINTOV, WHO WAS ALSO RELATED TO THE SHULMAN
FAMILY WAS FROM KURENETS. (SHE WAS A TEACHER IN KURENETS IN 1924)
ATTACHED ARE SOME PHOTOS FROM THE VISIT, A MAP AND PHOTOS FROM THE "AZKARA "
LAST WEEK IN TEL AVIV.
I ALSO HAVE A MAP OF KURENETS DRAWN BY AARON MEIROVICH (THE WRITER-EDITOR OF
"MEGILAT KURENITZ"),
HE DREW THE MAP FROM MEMORY, IN COLORS . THE ORIGINAL IS IN THE HANDS OF YERACHMIEL
DORI.
SHANA TOVA
YOSSI OPHIR

I can't thank you enough for all the time and effort you have put out for our
little informal SIG.

I was struck by the results of your search and said to myself that it just can't
be that 1250 people came to the US from the town of Lechovich via Ellis Island.

Attached is my attempt to make sense of the number.

Hope you enjoy.

Neville.
LECHOVICHERS in the EIDB

by Neville Lamdan
(September, 2001)

The Ellis Island Database is an extraordinary resource. Eilat Gordin was kind
enough to comb it for the SIG and she produced almost 1,200 people who gave
Lechovich or places with similar names as their last place of residence. SIG
members provided another 66 individuals who were not on Eilat's list.

Hence, the question immediately arose whether it was credible that about 1250
Lechovichers could have headed for Ellis Island in the years 1896 and 1924 -
bearing in mind that in 1897 the Russian census showed just 3,846 Jews in the
town (within a total population of 5,016). Put another way, could it really
be that some 32.5%, or almost a third, of the town's Jews in 1897 entered the
US in the period indicated via Ellis Island alone?

On the face of it, the answer was simply "no". The figure of some 1250 individuals
clearly required critical examination.

The first thing to be done was to delete people on the list of almost 1200 who
came from places picked up by the EIDB Soundex facility which were patently
not Lechovich, as the town was called by the Jews (Lachowicze in Polish, Lyakhovichi
in Belorussian, to mention only a couple of several variants). Then people from
"highly improbable" places had also to be stripped out. Since due caution was
exercised in the elimination process, the reduced list - 939 names - was assumed
to be overstated by 10%. When that percentage is deducted, and the 66 individuals
on the SIG's input list are added back, the revised total was 911.

However, the original question persisted. Was it reasonable that over 900 of
the town's Jews in 1897 - 23.4%, or aalmost a quarter of them - could have headed
for Ellis Island during the time period in question? And factor in another consideration,
not yet mentioned - that, after 1897, the town's population did not grow but,
quite the reverse, it shrunk significantly,
partly because of the magnetic attraction of more prosperous towns nearby, especially
Baranovich which was booming thanks to the railroad, and partly because of the
adverse impact of World War I, when Lechovich found itself in the middle of
a war zone and was partly evacuated.

One possible hypothesis to explain the apparent anomaly meaningfully could be
that many of those who are recorded in the EIDB as coming from Lechovich did
not actually come from the town itself, but from the numerous villages in the
administrative sub-district surrounding the town. Those people would have very
naturally given "Lechovich" as their place of residence, because that was how
they were registered in Czarist Russia at the time. And if one assumes, somewhat
arbitrarily, that at least as many Jews lived in the villages and outlying places
as in the town itself, the number of just over 900 can readily be halved to
approximately 450 - or 11.7% of the 1897 figure. This surely is a more reasonable
figure for people from lechovich proper.

Additional refinements may be required, but they are of a lesser order.
For example, not everyone who arrived at Ellis Island was admitted to the US
- so remove, say, another 1-2% (?). Then, many bona fide Lechovichers had relocated
before they sailed for America and are thus listed in the Ships' Manifests as
coming from such towns as Baranovich, Nesvizh and Kletsk
- so add on, say 2-3% (?).

Altogether, after adjusting the numbers as above, it appears that perhaps 12-13%
of the town's population in 1897 (460 - 500 individuals) entered the US via
Ellis Island. In and of itself, this is a fascinating statistic, bearing in
mind the many other entry-points into the US, including overland via Canada.

An additional perspective is to be found in a Polish Census which recorded the
town's Jewish population, in 1921, as 1656 individuals (out of a total of 2819).
This depleted number in comparison with 1897 (less than half) clearly reflects
a combination of emigration, relocation and the effects of war.

Some Particulars.

1. Rhythm of Migration.

The first Lechovicher found to have passed through Ellis Island is Reise Mandel-Adelsohn,
who arrived with her children (via Kletsk) in 1896. Thereafter, people came
in one's and two's, until the trickle became a flow in 1902 (with 16 names).
Lechovich arrivals totally ceased during World War I and the two years of Russian-Polish
turmoil thereafter, only to resume slowly in 1920 (a mere 95 people over the
five years between 1920 and 1924).

2. Peak Years of Arrival.

446 or virtually half of our core group of "over 900" Lechovichers arrived in
just four years: 106 in 1904 (the year after the Kishenev Pogroms);
117 and 105 in 1906 and 1907 respectively (the two years after the "1905 Revolution");
and 118 in 1913 (the year before the outbreak of World War 1).

3. Ages.

Lechovichers arriving at Ellis Island ranged in age from a new-born of two months
to a 67 year old. However, 462 - or over half of the core group - fell into
the 16 - 25 year old bracket. If that bracket is widened to 14 - 30 years old,
then the number rises to 570, or about 63% of the total. Noteworthy.

4. Family Groupings and Migration Patterns.

Among the Lechovichers arriving at Ellis Island were singles, husbands travelling
ahead of their families, wives and children joining their husbands and fathers,
complete families, and even a few elderly people. The different groupings are
difficult to quantify but presumably they reflect the general migration patterns
of Jews from other "shtetlach" in the Minsk Guber

.
-

) Harold Rhode works for the Dept.
of Defense; I believe in the Pentagon.
Do we know that
he is OK?

If there are other Pentagon or World Trade Center-Jewish Gen affiliates
affected, I think it is important to use some central networking
mechanism to check in and let us know. Perhaps this is the most
effective mechanism?

Mr. Levitan: I have just come across your fabulous family archive
web site. I am particularly intrigued by Michael Castrol's lengthy
essay about New Haven, where I am from, and the Milford and Rosenbaum
Tutoring Schools. The Rosenbaums were my Uncles, and my Father is
mentioned in his essay. Can you put me in touch with him??
I would be most grateful. David W. Cugell.
--
David W. Cugell, MD
Northwestern University
mymble@nwu.edu
. mymble@nwu.edu
-

Mr. Levitan: I have just come across your fabulous family archive
web site. I am particularly intrigued by Michael Castrol's lengthy
essay about New Haven, where I am from, and the Milford and Rosenbaum
Tutoring Schools. The Rosenbaums were my Uncles, and my Father is
mentioned in his essay. Can you put me in touch with him??
I would be most grateful. David W. Cugell.
--
David W. Cugell, MD
Northwestern University
mymble@nwu.edu
. mymble@nwu.edu
USA -

To all ,
I have just returned from Lithuania. I worked for one week in the National
Archives. In a very friendly ambiance, with lot of help from the employees.
Even we (Belorussian group), lot of the documents can be found for us in Vilnius.
This part ( western Belarus) was Polish up to 1795 and from 1922 to 1939.
The town Vilnius was the district center and had a University since XVII century:Uniwersytet
Stefana Batorego. As my father was from Nowogrodek, he
studied medicine in Wilno from 1928 to 1935. The entire (?) archives of the
University are there.
Many other documents concerning Belarus could be also found there.
I will give you some information from their publication:
files 70,1084: election to Polish Sejm.
files 51, ...: local administation, many of them from to-days Belorusia.

I used the Polish language, but they speak also English or French. They speak
but don't like Russian.
All the documents I looked were in Polish as they concerned the period when
Wilno belonged to Poland.
In compression with the working conditions in Belarus (I worked in 2 archives;
Grodno and Minsk) they are much, much better in Vilnius. The work in place is
free of charge, the Xerox copies are 24cents/A4
(210x297mm) up to 2,5$ for abt. 1 square meter.
Many European citizens don't need the visa. The hotel, restauranta conditions
can be compared to a normal Western standards. Air communication from many towns.
Sleeping car train from Warsaw 10 hours, arriving at 8am.
Please fill free to ask me for the general questions, but not about the details
as they have 2,750,076 documents.
Searching: LIMON, DELATYCKI, KAPLINSKI, MACZYNSKI, GIERASIMOWICZ from
Slonim, Nowogrodek, Lida
Best wishes

Schulman,Gitte Neky, Russia 1914
21y
50 Schulmann,Chaie from Neki (Neki/Nieki is a small hamlet next to Kurenitz)
arrived in the U.S in 1907 at age 19 years old
Schulmann,Sise Neki 1907 18y
52 Schulmmann,Schoel Niky, Russia 1910 20y

...download the new Puissance "Total
Cleansing" album at
www.puissance.org
s
USA -

Cllifford L Karchmer wrote:
1. My ancestors lived in Vishnevo, Oshmiany, and Devenishkes--all in the
Oshmiany uezd but two of the towns are in Belarus today. Will the Vishnevo and
Oshmiany records be in
the Lithuanian State Archives?

Based on what information I have from the FHL, they have completed the filming
of vital records in the Vilnius Archive for areas that were part of Vilna gubernia.
At
http://www.jewishgen.org/belarus/belarus_records_vilna_archives.htm. there
is a list of vital records from areas now in Belarus that have been filmed by
the FHL and are available through your local FHCs. As you can see, there does
not appear to be any records from the shtetls you want. There are
other records that might help you in your research: Revision Lists. Please
check the All Lithuanian Database. Some of the information you are looking
for is there. JewishGen is working on the technical issues that will allow searching
of shtetls that were in different countries so they can be
searched from more than one All XXX Database. This will make research
easier for all of us.

Subj: [belarus] Help!!: Jewish Historical
Research In Vilnius
Date: 8/2/01 10:29:08 AM Pacific Daylight Time
From: rabinowitz@juno.com (Cllifford L Karchmer)
To: belarus@lyris.jewishgen.org (Belarus SIG)
CC: belarus@lyris.jewishgen.org
A relative will be traveling to Vilnius shortly and wants to conduct some family
research. I have some questions which I hope to answer so that he can complete
the research while there.

1. My ancestors lived in Vishnevo, Oshmiany, and Devenishkes--all in the
Oshmiany uezd but two of the towns are in Belarus today. Will the Vishnevo and
Oshmiany records be in
the Lithuanian State Archives?

2. We want to find the birth, marriage, and death records of two ancestors,
Nathan Rabinowitz and his wife Rachel, who lived from about 1799-1896. Do we
go to the Lithuanian State Archives for all information, or is there a separate
archive for marriage and non-vital
records?

3. Can the request for records, archives search, and receipt of
records--all be done in one day, and how long does it take
(approximately)?

4. What language will the records be in, and are there translators
available through the state archives, or does one have to hire one's own?

5. What is the cost for copies (Xerox) of birth, death, and marriage
records?

The following is being sent to every member but is a response to Nancy
Holden's below inquiry:
=====================================================
Thank you for your letter, but you and I had been in contact when I started
trying to organize the district research during last Summer. My records show
that you are researching GORDON in Myadel. If you have other surnames
or towns you are interested in, please let me know.

The research group was set up to organize the researching for the entire Vilieka
Uyezd (district) of Belarus, not for just one town or group of towns.

It was my thought, as discussed with Dave Fox & Mike Meshenberg of the Belarus
SIG, that we would eventually organize into sub groups for each
town, but participate as a group to make purchases or translate of major documents
like the 1850 Vilna Revision list.

In your letter, you have asked a number of questions which I have been meaning
to address to the entire group. Since my E-mail server blocks any message going
to more than forty people (to avoid people sending spam) this
letter will be sent in smaller batches.

A full list of the 136 members and the towns they are interested in appears
at the end of this note. If you know of other researchers who are interested
in the towns of the district, who are not listed, please ask them to write to
me.

We were told by Harold Rhode that the only post 1842 revision list for the district
that survived WW2, was the 1850 list in the Vilna Archives.

He advised us that he had very good contacts with the Vilna archivist and with
Reigina Kapelovich. He had proposed to have a set of copies made of this list
and its supplements for the entire district. An approximate cost of $2200 was
discussed.

An account was opened with Jewishgen to raise the necessary money, but less
than 20% has been obtained. I like to thank the those members who did contribute.

During the Winter Dave Fox sent me the following message from which I am cutting
& pasting, so that you will all know the actual exact facts:

"Bad news! I finally was able to reach Harold Rhode. He was overseas again.
He had just received word from Reigina Kapelovich that she no longer had access
to copy records in Vilna.

Someone (I think it was an American) blew the whistle to some officials and
now everyone is afraid to copy anything. The good news is that the FHL is filming
Jewish records at a rapid rate."

We had known the FHL was doing a lot of filming at Vilna, but the initial reports
were that the revision list records, were for some reason, not being included.

At my last contact with Dave & Mike, they had not learned of the specifics
of what documents were filmed and when those films would be available to the
public. Do any of you have a contact who can answer those questions.

If the 1850 revision list was already filmed, then it would be senseless to
make any further waves at the Vilna Archives. The pre 1842 records for the district
are at Minsk and I'm sure that we all want these documents as
well, but the key for many of us is the linking of our US research to the families
in the district before their emigration to this country.

In reading several books on Belarus history, I have also learned of census reports
under the Soviet regime during the early 1920s and after WW2. Thus far my inquiries
concerning these records have not been successful.

As Joel Ratner, who runs the Vilna study group (latvaksig) and Ellen Sadove
Renck of the Lida district study group (Belarus SSIG) can tell you,
making copies is the lesser expense to having these same copies translated.
Joel raised the funds and purchased the entire revision list for the city of
Vilna, but less than 20% has been translated, because of the lack of funding.
The Lida group has been far more fortunate.

To make this research group effective, we must be able to raise more money to
fund the necessary research and if our own members do not have the language
skills or the time to translate large amounts of material, to fund
the required translations.

Step #3 is typing this translated data into Excel, Lotus 123 or data base formats.
This will require large numbers of members participating and
sharing the workload.

As a group we cannot spread our resources too thin. I chose the 1850 revision
list as our first project, because I felt it would be generally help more of
our membership, than other possible projects.

Since there was no feed back on other possible targets of research, I assume
that the other members agreed with me.

The following is the full list of the members of the Vileika Research Group
and the towns that each is interested in:

===================================================
At 09:46 AM 7/22/01 -0400, you wrote:
I am interested in the Vileika Research Group. I talked to some people last
year at Salt Lake.

Can you update me on what you are working on. Are you working on the
Vileika area or only the city of Vileika? Are you planning a Shtetlinks
page? Are you purchasing Revision Lists from Vilnius State Historical Society?
Can you tell me who is interested in this area of research?

I have recently returned from a visit to Vileika area. I visited the Vileika
City Museum. I have the name of one of the librarians. They are interested in
collecting as much Jewish information from the "area" of Vileika as possible.
I have promised to help make contacts and to send
them information if I can. Currently they have an exhibit area of Jewish articles
from Vileika.

They have a contact at the Minsk Archives and hope to acquire records from the
area.

They recently purchased a computer and are working up a database.
Unfortuantely, they are not sophisticated and will put their data into a Word
document rather than a database.

Manifest for Celtic
Sailing from Liverpool July 25, 1908
Name Gender Age Married Ethnicity Place of Residence
Alperowitz, Abel M 33y M Russia, Hebrew Kurenetz, Russia
going to brother in law in Brooklyn

http://www.ellisisland.org/EIFile/popup_weif_5a.asp?src=%2Fcgi%2Dbin%2Ftif2gif%2Eexe%3FT%3DG%3A%5C%5CT715%2D1123%5C%5CT715%2D11230026%2ETIF%26S%3D%2E5&pID=101806160143&name=Abel%26nbsp%3BAlperowitz&doa=July++++++25%2C+1908&port=Liverpool&line=0014click
for original manifest
USA -

Dear Eilat,
I didn't succed in finding the phone number of Zalman Alperovitz of Yeshiva
U.If you have it, I'd appreciate your sending it to me.
Eilat, do you know the names of Yehudah Alperovitz's brothers, sisters,
parents? Do you know if his greatgreats at one time lived in the city of
Vilna? Have you figured out if you're related to my neighbor, Amiram
Alperovitz, whose father made aliyah from Argentina with your grandfather?
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Kind regards,
Andi Alpert Ziegelman
Dear Andy,
I am sorry, I gave you a wrong last name for Zalman whose father Mendel was
born in Kurenits and was the brother of the well known Lubavitch rabbi Zalman
Kurnitzer Alperovitz. you could read about his uncle at http://eilatgordinlevitan.com/kurenets/k_pages/stories_2kurenetsers.html.
It is Mr. Zalman Alpert and he is the reference librarian at the Gottesman Library
of Yeshiva University (212) 960-5382
The name of my great great grandfather Yehuda Alperovitz ( born c 1855) father
was Meir Fradas' ( Husband of Frada? born c 1830) Alperovitz. Meir had at list
one other son; Shimon. Two of Shimons' sons; Zishka and Mendel Alperovits were
well to do and amongst other holdings owned a hotel in Vileyka in the 1930s.
They and their family perished in Volozhin, Kurenits and some in the forests
while fighting as partisans (Shimon, Zishkas' son)
Yehuda Alperovitz children of whom I know are;
1-My great grandmother; Frada, wife of Mordechai Gurevitz , she was born in
1870 in Kurenitz she died in Bnai Brak, Eretz Israel 1936. see pictures of the
Gurevitz family
http://eilatgordinlevitan.com/kurenets/k_pages/gurevitz.html
2- Wolia-Welwel (Ze'ev) Alperovitz who was killed in the 1905 war.
3-Yaacov Moshe Alperovitz
who was a well to do man in Radoshkovichi and he sent his children to study
in Paris. the family; Yaacov Moshe Alperovitz His son Ze'ev, his wife Yehudit
and their children: Yodele and Leibele Alperovitz,His other son Lazer, his wife,
Zlata and their children, They all perished in Radoshkovichi in 1942.
4-Michael Alperovitz who perished with his wife; Pesia nee Kastrol ( daughter
of the Shochet Nachum Kastrol and ? Alperovitz), you could read about the family
in his sons', Nachum Alperovich story at;
http://eilatgordinlevitan.com/kurenets/k_pages/stories_n_alperovich.html.
5- Solomon Yitzhak Alperovitzwho moved to Gorki and had two daughters 9 I am
99% sure that he was the great grandfather of Tichon Bykov see pictures of the
family at http://eilatgordinlevitan.com/kurenets/k_pages/russia.html.
6-Rashka Alperovitz married another Alperovitz; Zalman Alperovitz, son of Yecheskel
son of Binymin. Zalman was the brother of Menachem Mendel Alperovitz (Amirams'
grandfather) you could find their picture at; http://eilatgordinlevitan.com/kurenets/k_pix/alperovitz/al26_1_big.jpg
Zalman and Rashka son, Moshe Alperovitz who died in Tel Aviv last summer told
me most of the information I have on the family. Moshes had; sister Pia sitting
in the middle row on the far right;
http://eilatgordinlevitan.com/kurenets/k_pix/kurenets_portraits/girls_big.jpg
She married a Rubin from Dolhinv and perished with her family. Moshe had a brother
Meir he is the young boy standing on the far right; http://eilatgordinlevitan.com/kurenets/k_pix/scenes_old/kunitz_big.jpg
he perished on the last days of the war.
and Sara who lives in Chino, California with her son.
-Their was another daughter of Yehuda; Teibe who moved to Brazil, we don't know
her married name. Eilat
.
-

The Rabunsky family name seem to
originated in Sosenka (in the early 1800's Jews were told to take last names)
as the Sosensky family and a branch of the Alperovitz family (Jordan Alpert's
family). Soserka was a farming community near Kurenitz. you could read some
stories by Rabunsky family members on the Kurenetz site; http://eilatgordinlevitan.com/kurenets/k_pages/stories_struggle.html
and some new chapters in Jay Rabunsky story; http://eilatgordinlevitan.com/kurenets/k_pages/stories_memoir_infancy.html
Here are all the Rabunsky family members I found on the Ellis Island lists;
Manifest for Homeric
Sailing from Southampton July 04, 1923
Rabunski, Moisze M 19 S Polish, Hebrew Sosenka ( next to Kurenitz, in 1920 it
became part of Poland)
http://eilatgordinlevitan.com/kurenets/k_pages/rabunski.html

Manifest for Vaderland
Sailing from Antwerp December 17, 1902.
Rabunsky, Itte Female 19 years old Single Russian- Hebrew from Sosinka (a small
farming community near Kurenitz) a dressmaker going to New York to uncle J.
Herman 492? Grand Street New York. http://www.ellisisland.org/EIFile/popup_weif_5a.asp?src=%2Fcgi%2Dbin%2Ftif2gif%2Eexe%3FT%3DK%3A%5C%5CT715%2D0313%5C%5CT715%2D03130107%2ETIF%26S%3D%2E5&pID=102798110249&name=Itte%26nbsp%3BRabunsky&doa=December++17%2C+1902&port=Antwerp&line=0009click
for the original manifest
-

Manifest for Ryndam
Sailing from Rotterdam Date of Arrival in the U.S; March 17, 1903
Associated Passenger; Sosensky, Schmen Male Age; 21years Single Ethnicity; Russia
Place of Residence; Dolhinow going to uncle Sosensky in New York
http://www.ellisisland.org/EIFile/popup_weif_5a.asp?src=%2Fcgi%2Dbin%2Ftif2gif%2Eexe%3FT%3DK%3A%5C%5CT715%2D0330%5C%5CT715%2D03300765%2ETIF%26S%3D%2E5&pID=102618060693&name=Schmen%26nbsp%3BSosensky&doa=March+++++17%2C+1903&port=Rotterdam&line=0030to
see the original manifest click here
USA -

His sister,Sorka Bronstein, was married to Mendel Zavodnick. They had seven
daughters and lived in Brooklyn, NY. His younger brother, Joseph Bronstein,
also came to live in Lynn, MA. Isaac Norman was the son of
Batsheva's sister and he migrated with the Bronsteins. Later came
Batsheva Norman (cousin of Isaac but not related to the Bronsteins). She lived
w/the Bronsteins until they brought over her fiancee, Jacob Izenstatt. Jacob
and Batsheva married and later moved to Roxbury MA.
He became a prominent shoe manufacturer.

There was a large group of Vileyka folk who settled in the Lynn area and they
formed a Vileyka Aid Society that was operative until WWII interrupted. There
is a book about Vileyka people in the U.S.
flama@webtv.net (charles & shirley broner)

July 16, 1922.
Manifest for Lapland
Sailing from Antwerp
Norman, Chaja Female 33 years old Married Russian, Hebrew from Wilejka, Russia
going to husband; Joe Norman 114 E. 104th St. Manhattan, New York in the original
manifest it is written that she came from Kurenitz
0024. Norman, Hile Male 10 years old S Russian, Hebrew from Wilejka, Russia
http://www.ellisisland.org/EIFile/popup_weif_5a.asp?src=%2Fcgi%2Dbin%2Ftif2gif%2Eexe%3FT%3DI%3A%5C%5CT715%2D3143%5C%5CT715%2D31430260%2ETIF%26S%3D%2E5&pID=605160040084&name=Hile%26nbsp%3BNorman&doa=July++++++16%2C+1922&port=Antwerp&line=0024click
for the original manifest
USA -

Dr Ghil`ad Zuckermann is a research fellow at Churchill College and at the Department
of Linguistics, University of Cambridge. After studying at the United World
College of the Adriatic (Duino, Trieste, 1987-9) and performing several years
of military service, he was selected for the Adi Lautman Interdisciplinary Programme
for Outstanding Students of Tel Aviv University, where he received an M.A. summa
cum laude in the Department of Linguistics in 1997. As Scatcherd European Scholar
of the University of Oxford and Denise Skinner Graduate Scholar of St Hughs
College, he gained his D.Phil. in 2000. The thesis title was Camouflaged Borrowing:
Folk-Etymological Nativization in the Service of Puristic Language
Engineering, and this will be the basis of a forthcoming book (2002). He has
published in Ivrit (Revived Hebrew), Yiddish, English, Italian and
Russian, and is currently publishing a book entitled The Survival of Yiddish
Beneath Ivrit (2001), which is the first book-length study of a central but
much neglected aspect of Ivrit. He has delivered lectures in Vilnius, Moscow,
Berkeley, Boston, Austin (Texas), Bloomington (Indiana), Oxford, Cambridge and
Tel Aviv, and was a visiting fellow at the Kokuritu Kokugo Kenkyuuzyo (National
Language Research Institute) (Tokyo) and at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research
Center (University of Texas at Austin). He is a member of the Philological Society,
the European Association for Lexicography (EURALEX), the Association for Jewish
Studies (AJS) and the European Association for Jewish Studies (EAJS). In 1993-6
he taught preparatory courses for the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT)
and for the Israeli Universities Psychometric Examination. He has co-authored
several books in this field. Hobbies include opera (in particular Puccini, Verdi,
Donizetti and Mozart), film, as well as logology and constrained literature
(for example, writing palindromic stories and bilingual homophonous poems).

I'll travel to New York on 23th.July
until 31th.
I'll like to meet people or descendants of Kurenitz.
Please write me until July 22th.
My english is very bad.
Pedro Alperowicz, Buenos Aires,Argentina.
Pedro Alperowicz salonelcano@arnet.com.ar
Buenos Aires, Argentina -

Eilat: Just happened to log on to one of the sites you posted. EXCELLENT Your
labors are appreciated. I have been trying for the longest time to find ancestors
from Slonim in Belarus, and to this date I have been unsuccessful. I posted
the name of SCHMULOVITCH, SMULOWICZ, SMULOWITZ, plus many derivations, and have
come up empty. Could be that my grandparents who emigrated here in 1900 may
have come from a different shtetl, and that I do not know. All I am aware of
is that he came from Slonim, and is buried in the Independant Slonimer Benevolent
Society plots in Elmont, N.Y., along with my parents, who were born here. So
for those seeking their genealogy should be quite pleased at your efforts, to
say the least, and should stop their complaining. Now if I had someone who could
come up with what I am seeking I would be forever grateful. KEEP UP THE GOOD
WORK. Herman Stein, Tucson, AZ.......
Herman Stein should be "forever grateful".
Subj: Schmalewitz, Morduch M 25y M Russia Slonim October 16, 1900
Date: 7/4/2001 8:20:36 AM Pacific Daylight Time
From: EilatGordn
To: Krtrptr8

I posted the name of SCHMULOVITCH, SMULOWICZ, SMULOWITZ, plus many derivations,
and have come up empty. Could be that my grandparents who emigrated here in
1900 may have come from a different shtetl,
Or look at what I found; Schmalewitz, Morduch M 25y M Russia Slonim arrived;
October 16, 19
when I put Schmalewitz in the EIDB;
Chaim Schmalewitz Sweden 1906 20
2. Gurty Schmalewitz Sweden 1906 22
3. Morduch Schmalewitz Slonim 1900 25

Thanks for your informative email and recent phone chat. It's going to take
me a while to digest what you have given me so far but I'm sure I'll have questions
for you soon. I'll give a call or email.

I haven't contacted my cousin yet but will soon. I think he'd be happy to meet
someone else researching our family's hometown in Belarus. He's told me he'd
like to go their but knows he's too old for that now. I do, however, want to
go there some day, though not soon. I'd like to get as much info as possible
beforehand so I can be an intelligent visitor/researcher. It might be my only
chance. Looks like the second stop, after the archive offices in Vilna and other
towns, would be the Kurenets Jewish cemetery, right?

Did I say that my grandfather and his brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews
came over from about 1890 to 1910 or so? So my interest would be from before
this time to about 1920. I'm working on getting a couple of short letters and
some photo labels, that are in Yiddish, translated right now. Dick has them
in his possession.

My first order of business is to see the Kurenets and Vileyka yizkor books translated
into English. I assume you will want to help with this also. Only one other
Belarus SIG member has written to say she is interested but there MUST be others.
I feel good to know we can work together on this.

Many thanks for the web pages, especially the photos of old New Haven.
My husband was born and raised there and identified most of the sites
without looking at the captions. He remembers going to the Olive Street
shul with his grandfather, going to the Oak Street market with his
parents, and eating at Chuck's Luncheonette. I'm forwarding the data to
my sister-in-law as well.
We don't have a lot of information about our Kaplowitz connection, but
we are working at it. Would you be so kind as to provide the map co-ordinates
for Kurenets. Do you know why Kaplowitz family members
were attracted to New Haven.
Look forward to hearing more from you.
Annette Lackman

New Haven was the very first place for Jews from the Vileyka district to settle
in America- I don't know who was the first to come there-but he must have brought
his relatives there.
from http://eilatgordinlevitan.com/kurenets/k_pages/stories_2synagogues.html;
The story of the New Haven Kurenitzers Synagogue;
Most of the Chassidim of eastern Lithuania came from Kurenitz or small villages
in its environs. Kurenitz was a strong outpost of the Chassidic Lubavitcher
movement following the success of their opponents, the Mitnagdim, in keeping
the Lubavitcher Chassidim out of Vilna under their powerful leader, the Vilna
Gaon. Bringing with them an uncompromising scorn and contempt for the Mitnagdim,
who dominated the Bikur Cholim B'nai Abraham of Lower Factory Street, they enthusiastically
accepted the Sheveth Achim as their own, regarding it as "the Kurnitzer Shule."
They brought their large families here to settle in New Haven. They fostered
large and extended families by encouraging inter marriage among the many Chassidic
families of the Lubavitcher school History of the Mergers.

Most Jewish families had relatives
in near by shtetls- I am posting here a list of names of names of people who
are donors for a shtetl project near by Kurenitz;
Here is an updated list of donors for the Cemetery Project in Dolhinov(Most
are natives of Dolhinov). For address of the people on the list email:
rubinlj@netvision.net.il (RUBIN LEON)

This is a list of donors who participated financially so far in the restoration
of the Jewish cemetery in Dolhinov. The project is estimated to cost $25,000.
About 84% of it was already collected.
For address of the people on the list email:
rubinlj@netvision.net.il (RUBIN LEON)
Leon Rubin ,Tel:o3-6356469,Ramat Efal,Israel

I am very grateful for your posting today. I just discovered this summer from
a 95 year old cousin of my father who my paternal grandmother was-Esther
Levine of Kurenitz,who married another Levine from Ilya. She died in Ilya but
her children and husband came here. The web site was excellent.
Thank you,
Ethel Levine Donath
Hamden,CT
.
-

I don't believe I thanked you for the lists you sent me in May--I am most appreciative.
My husband's paternal grandmother was Anna Kaiser Kaplowitz (1864-1932) daughter
of Harry Kaplowitz and Esther Kaiser--Anna married Joseph Lackman, and they
lived in New Haven, CT. We
think the families came from Germany, originally--my husband and his
sister have just begun their research, and we do not know a whole lot
aboout this family. I am working extensively on my own family history, but I
am trying to help with the Lackman family tree as well. What is your interest
in "Kapelowitz?"
Many thanks,
Annette Lackman, Arlington, texas

My mother, Mary Bronstein, had an aunt T'ida, who
walked thru the woods from Vileyka to Kurenitz and married a man named
Alperowicz. Her son migrated to Israel and became a farmer and his son
became the postmaster of Netanya. My son-in-law, Eli Alperowicz, could
tell you more about them.
.
USA -

I have just begun trying to find out something of my paternal grandmother's
history. I have very little information but the information i have is that she
came from Kurnitz which looks very much like the town you had listed for your
relatives. Her name was Dora Schulman. She was born in about 1888 and come to
the US when she was about 16 and worked in the garment district in New York.
She married my grandfather Henry Cohen and had 2 sons - in 1909 and 1910. Her
father's name was Mair (Mayer) Schulman. Her mother was Hinda Alpert. Her grandparents
were Velvel and Sara Schulman and Itzach and Zippa Alpert. She had brothers
Zalman, Morris, Itche (maybe Isaac), Noshke and Arke and sisters Anna, Celia
and Michla.

http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/w/o/u/Jordan-Samuel-Wouk/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-Sources.html
My Genealogy Home Page:
Sources
1. Soc Sec.
2. The Lewin Family - A family tree wtih biographical notations. Spring 1986.
Dr. Eli Grad, 25 Hobart Road, Newton Center, MA 02159, 1.
3. Soc Sec.
4. e-mail from Arthur Wouk, we trace the levine name to naphtali herz (1825-1905
all dates approx). he had six surviving children by his FIRST wife, of whom
one, rabbi mendl leib levine was in kurenitz. i think it likely that naphtali
lived in ilya, since mendl leib's daughter esther (my aunt) told me that the
family records were in ilya. in russia, family records stayed behind, when you
moved! it would be necessary to untangle relationships of the levines in ilya
in the 19th century, which would involve going through the ilya records. they
do exist (in russian). .
5. The Lewin Family - A family tree wtih biographical notations. Spring 1986.
Dr. Eli Grad, 25 Hobart Road, Newton Center, MA 02159, P4., Nagel had two daughters
whose names I do not know.
6. e-mail from Arthur Wouk, we trace the levine name to naphtali herz (1825-1905
all dates approx). he had six surviving children by his FIRST wife, of whom
one, rabbi mendl leib levine was in kurenitz. i think it likely that naphtali
lived in ilya, since mendl leib's daughter esther (my aunt) told me that the
family records were in ilya. in russia, family records stayed behind, when you
moved! it would be necessary to untangle relationships of the levines in ilya
in the 19th century, which would involve going through the ilya records. they
do exist (in russian). .
7. Notes from Pixie Apt (nee Frances Lattman).
8. World Wide Web.
9. e-mail from Arthur Wouk, we trace the levine name to naphtali herz (1825-1905
all dates approx). he had six surviving children by his FIRST wife, of whom
one, rabbi mendl leib levine was in kurenitz. i think it likely that naphtali
lived in ilya, since mendl leib's daughter esther (my aunt) told me that the
family records were in ilya. in russia, family records stayed behind, when you
moved! it would be necessary to untangle relationships of the levines in ilya
in the 19th century, which would involve going through the ilya records. they
do exist (in russian). .

Subj: pictures from edna
Date: 6/10/01 9:19:58 AM Pacific Daylight Time
From: litvakme@inter.net.il (Edna & Moshe Litvak)
To: salonelcano@arnet.com.ar (Julieta Alperowicz), EilatGordn@aol.com (Eilat
Gordin)
Pedro & Eilat
I am sending more pictures to you. the attached picture is of a meeting of all
the people from kureniz who lived in Israel. they came to see Pedro's grandmother
Helena when she came from Argentina to Israel in the year 1950.
.
by the way Eilat my mothers' sister Helena nee Alperovitz Alperovitz (She also
married an Alperovitz) used to live in Argentina she passed away a few years
ago and she is the grandmother of our pedro.
i looked in the picture on the site and i have no idea who are these ladies.
Pedro i will send you more pictures. Love Edna
I have been seeking the relationship between my paternal grandfather, Morris
Roshkind who arrived here about 1894 with a five year old boy, Joseph, my father's
(Charles, b.1896, born Jake) brother. His father was a Rabbi in Vilna and I
believe Moscow. The only names I have found for Russia were Roskinds. There
are many Roskinds in America but the only Roshkinds are accounted for by my
family and the other two of Charles's brothers, Philip and Herman. I did find
a Ruben Roshkind who landed in Ellis Island on 5 Feb 1902 at the age of 43 as
a widower from Dokschitz, Russia. Later on 31 Jan 1907 the following Roskinds
landed:
Chasehe, F, 9; Schore, F, 45, married; Sloimer, M, 16; Dobulio, M, 7. They came
from Dagsebitz, Russia on the Teutonic, departed from Liverpool. I would appreciate
any information about a relationship between the Roshkinds and the Roskinds.
Especially anything further about Ruben Roshkind.

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Just to let everyone know that after I gave Carol Skydell the information
on our five surname DNA matches, I received another match to the HEIMAN (HYMAN)
OR HAYAT family from Medzibuch, Ukraine. As of today, just a year after, my
father Sidney Glazer took the DNA Y chomosome test we have connections to six
surnames and seven people.

It is mind boggling to think that between here and the l5th century we have
a common ancestor.

Diane Glazer Jacobs
New York

Not too long ago JewishGenner Diane Glazer Jacobs posted a message to just a
few of the mailing lists to which she subscribes, telling of how a DNA test
connected previously unknown relatives. We've asked her permission
to share this with everybody since this is the biggest connection to date accomplished
by JewishGen's Genealogy by Genetics project in concert with FTDNA.

Diane reported that her father Sidney Glazer, took a DNA y chromosome
test through Genealogy by Genetics last summer and so far they now have four
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Exact matches means that each of the 12 markers used by the FTDNA test
matched exactly ...12 for 12 !

So it is a 99.9% certainty that GLAZER from Kartuz Bereza in Belarus;
GANN or GEN from Kovno in Lithuania; EMDIN from Mogilev in Belarus and
Plunge in Lithuania; DRAZNIN from Skidel and Ostryna in Belarus; and NEWHOUSE
from Budapest, Hungary are descended from the same common ancestor!
Carol W. Skydell, Vice President
JewishGen Operations

Ever since you posted the surnames I have been busy checking names on the Ellis
Island passenger site. I checked under the name Alpert and came across 347 listings.
Perhaps the following information correlates with a picture that you have under
Alperovitz photos (al16). Kurenitz 1937 of (?) Alperovich, Nechama, Rasha, Emma,
and Edna. Where did this photo come from? Do you remember the source?

I printed out the photo thinking it might have been Mendel Alperovitz and a
son Morris (Moses) Alpert whom I have very little information on. There was
a strong family resemblance to a Grandfather of mine and other Great Uncles.
Do you know where this family settled? Did they ever leave Kurenitz?

Karen Alpert Entous
I am in touch with Edna, she lives in Israel. her grandfather Mendel came to
the U.S but he returned to kurenets and perished there with his wife Nechama
and his good looking son Eliyahu. ( A few older women who knew him said so)
they had a daughter who came to the U.S maybe she is in this picture; http://eilatgordinlevitan.com/kurenets/k_pix/kurenets_portraits/por26_4_big.jpg
and a daughter Helena who went to Argentina with her husband Pinchas Alperovitz
(from another Alperovitz family from Kurenets ; http://eilatgordinlevitan.com/kurenets/k_pix/kurenets_portraits/32001_4_b.gif
two daughters went to israel before the war; Rachel with her husband Levik Alperovitz
who was from another Alperovitz family from Kurenets; http://eilatgordinlevitan.com/kurenets/k_pix/kurenets_portraits/por26_2_big.jpg
and Ema Zivoni who was the most known woman from Kurenets- most of the meetings
of Kurenitzers were at her house in Tel Aviv. she is on the left and Yente who
must be an American is on the right; http://eilatgordinlevitan.com/kurenets/k_pix/kurenets_portraits/32001_4_b.gif
there was another sister who died before the war. I have pictures of her daughters
who survived the war in the Kurenets Area, her daghter Riva with Shimon Zimerman;
http://eilatgordinlevitan.com/kurenets/k_pix/partisans/pa19_1_big.jpg

Hi!
Given that you seem to be engaged in one-surname-research on the surname
Alperovitz, I thought you might like to know that a woman named Hinda
Alperowicz was detained upon immigration to Baltimore in 1902.
You can find her at the following URL, under "Baltimore":
http://members.aol.com/ImmigrantCases/index.html

Thanks for posting the passenger list. I really was able to gather alot of information
on my family thanks in part to your great work. I just wonder who the other
Dinersteins were from Dinilovitch. Thanks for the info. Stu
.
-

Dear Mr. Gordon, I am seeking information about my maternal grandfather Samuel
Dinerstein who immigrated to the US in 1925 from Kurenitz. He settled in Bronx
NY where he ran a fruit stand, later moving to Staten Island after WWII. His
wife, my maternal grandmother Matilda (Tillie) (Chrulnik) Dinerstein joined
him here in 1930 with their 3 children Henry, Irving and Lillian, my mother.
How can I identify their family from among the many Din(n)ersteins? Also, what
remains now at the site of Kurenitz? Thank you for any help you may provide.
Arnold L. Goldman
.
-

Lubavitcher congregations often were named after the shtetlach where their founding
members originated. Toldot Chabad B'Artzot HaBrit (see the Yiddish-Hebrew bibliography
below) lists many early 20th century Nusach Hoari (Chabad) synagogues (some
founded as early as the 1880s)including street addresses for congregations
located in New York City. Congregations on the list bear names of shtetlach
along with the U.S. cities in which they were located. (The shtetl's Yiddish
name appears first, followed by its name as it appears in current gazetteers.)
The congregations include: Azaritch/Ozarichi (New York), Bobruisk (Baltimore
and Brooklyn), Borisov (New York), Dokshitz/Dokshitsy (New York), Homel/Gomel
(New York), Kurenets (New York), Lyady (Brooklyn), Leplye/Lepel (New York),
Nezhin (Baltimore, Bayonne, and Philadelphia), Priluk/Priluki (New York), Puchovitch/Pukhovichi
(Bronx), Sh'tchedren/Shchedrin (New York), Tchernigev/Chernigov (Baltimore),
Vitebsk (Philadelphia) and Zembin (New York).

Dear Fellow Dinnerstein Researcher,
I believe we have located the first Din[n]ersteins, with enough data to organize
them into family trees. They lived in the Vileika district between Minsk and
Vilna, in what is today Belarus, but the early records are in the Lithuanian
archive. A group of us paid to have these records translated, and I have analyzed
the results. You may be able to trace your families back to these ancestors
from the data in the attachment. Please let me know any conclusions from your
own comparison of records with the attachment.
--Steve Rosen
The following paragraph was inadvertantly left out of the attachment in my previous
message on "the first Din[n]ersteins:"
"If your family tree goes back to an ancestor alive before 1850, it is possible
that you can find this ancestor on the trees below and thereby connect to earlier
relations. I have done so with my own great grandfather Avrum whose father David
was born before 1830 and therefore could match only the David (born 1824) who
was a son of Josel Ben (Son of) Sholom."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MAY is upon us...HONOR THY MOTHER
http://www.jewishgen.org/JewishGen-erosity/Honors.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Have you ever wanted to sent a letter in Russian to the Archives in
Belarus or to a possible long lost relative still living in Belarus or
Russia? How about sending a email message in Russian or translating a
letter or email message from Russian to English? Have you found a
Russian language website and want to see what it says in English?

Try out . This webpage seems to work better
than some of the other translation sites that have been discussed
before. According to some language experts, the translation from
English to Russian is very good, but the translation from Russian to
English is a little rough. Also, the response time is a little slow, so
don't give up.

Hope this website is useful for you. Give it a try and let the group
know if it is helpful.

I would like to ask for your help in finding my grandmothers sisters or their
relatives.
Here is some information that will help you;
Rosa- was born in 1903 and Dina was born in 1905.
They were born in Radoshkovichi to Taller Eleberl and Zelda.
There were three sisters they two and my grandmother- Stysa was born in 1900.
After their parents passed away Stysa gat married to my grandfather in Rakov.
Rosa and Dina were sent to America to live with relatives some where between
1920 and 1922.
After the war they found my mother Zelda, who lived then in Kurenets, and they
stayed in touch for some time. But now my mother passed and I dont have
their address any more.
One of them got married and her last name became Blok but I cant be sure
that I remember correctly.

http://eilatgordinlevitan.com/vishnevo/v_pages/vstories_forget.html
I would like to thank Charles Straczynski for letting me post his story on the
site. Charles is a Christian man who was born in the U.S.A in 1929. He and his
family came to visit other members of the family who lived in the area in 1939.
the Russian took control of the area shortly after they arrived, the family
could not return to the U.S.A for six years and Charles was a Witness to the
horrors after the German invaded in 1941.

I am writing to you at the suggestion of Eilat Gordon as I am researching
my family geneaology and my great-grandparents were from the town of
Kurenets, now in Belarus. To tell you a bit about myself, my name is Alan
Meltzer, I am 38, an American from New York, and I currently live in
Montevideo, Uruguay, where I am a diplomat posted to the US Embassy. In
fact, in 1994, I went to Kurenets and Viazyn to visit the towns of my
ancestors.

My great-grand-father, Lazar Meltzer, was born in Kurenets around 1860.
He married a member of the Turov Family, Etta Leah Turov (b. 1869), and
moved to the shtettl of Viazyn, perhaps 20-30 kilometers from Kurenets.
So, my great-grandmother is a Turov, and I understand that you are related
to the Turovs, so we are distant cousins. In fact, my great-grandmother,
Ettah Leah Turov, and your grandfather, Lebbe Yakov Turov, were brother and
sister.

When I was in Israel in 1995, I met two first cousins of yours, named
Sonia Wilzensky and Michle Fishbein. They also introduced me to your aunt
Peshky Turov. Unfortunately, as I don't speak any Hebrew or Yiddish, we
were not able to communicate well and I wasn't able to ask as many
questions as I would have liked.

I have some questions I'd like to ask you. I hope these aren't too much
trouble for you. Until I found Eilat Gordan's website, I thought I had
exhausted all of my "leads" about Meltzers and Turovs in Kurenets. Now I am
finding that there is a lot more information out there to search for,
thanks to Eilat's extraordinary work.

1. Do you remember any families named Meltzer from Kurenets? What are the
names of all the Meltzers from that you remember and what were their
occupations?

2. Do you remember any of the Meltzers living in Viazyn, for example
Hennach Meltzer?

3. I understand that there is a descendant of the Turov family named
Morris Jablon, living in Milton, Massachusetts, USA. Who were his parents?
Do you have his phone number or address? My brother lives in Boston and
could contact him.

4. Do you remember any Meltzers or Turovs that moved to Montevideo,
Uruguay in the 1920s/30s? I know of one man named Rachmail (Roberto)
Melcer who moved here and wonder of you had heard of him? He was a brother
of Peshia Meltzer Mikhailov, born in Kurenets, who now lives in Israel.

5. If I understand correctly, there was a woman named Bella Meltzer from
Kurenets. Do you know who her parents or siblings were? I think she may be
the younger sister of Rachmail (Roberto) Meltzer who moved to Montevideo,
and the older sister of Peshia Meltzer Mikhailov, but I'd like to confirm
that.

6. Do you have the address or phone number of Rivka Gvint Dudik? I
understand from Eilat that her mother, Sima Gvint, had Meltzer as her
maiden name. I'd like to contact Rivka to write or phone her, if possible.
Do you know whether she speaks English?

7. Do you know how Rivka Gvint, or her mother Sima, were related to the
other Meltzers, for example, what were SIma's parents' names?

8. I'd like to purchase a copy of your book, Veha-ayra Boeret, please let
me know how I can purchase a copy.

Thank you very much for your assistance. I look forward very much to
hearing from you and perhaps meeting you, if I am able to visit Israel again.